Enchanting Nightmares
by LegendaryMelody
Summary: Sam and Dean discover a determined young girl who longs for a life of adventure. However, she harbors a powerful secret unbeknownst even to her. Will this spell the doom of the Winchester brothers and their friends? Or the opposite? Rated T for language and violence. Follows the storyline of the show. R&R and I will love you forever. Please no flaming!
1. Texas Chain Mail Massacre Part 1

**Intro: Hello! I'm Melody and this is my first Supernatural fanfiction! For anyone who has read my Outsiders or Vampire Diaries stories welcome! I know I should really be working on Inside the Outsider but ever since I started watching Supernatural I've had this idea for a story and I'm really invested in it!**

**I know the length seems intimidating since it's split into two parts but I promise this will be the longest chapter, the rest will be shorter **

**This story will start just after 1x16 and continue through the series in chapter/episodes. I probably won't write a fic for every episode but I will try to stick to the storyline as much as possible. ****Anyways, I really really hope you guys enjoy this, and please no flaming! This story has taken me months to write and ages for me to finally sum up the courage to post online. So all I ask is for positive constructive criticism and if anyone has questions, feel free to message me or leave a review and I will message you back.**

**Cookies to everyone who reads and reviews! I really appreciate it! Without further ado, here is Enchanting Nightmares.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. I only claim ownership of Mia and other original characters mentioned within this story.**

**Episode Summary: After splitting up with their father, Sam and Dean decide to investigate a case involving a murder-suicide, ghosts, deadly chain mails that come true, and a young girl who seems eerily familiar.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Texas Chain Mail Massacre**

Dean Winchester turned to face his brother, "So what's the deal with this town?" he asked as he turned down the radio.

Sam Winchester brushed a stray piece of brown hair out of his eyes and cleared his throat.

"We have a murder-suicide. A woman went to this party, killed her boyfriend, then left the party and ran in front of a car."

His brother frowned and shook his head. "That doesn't really sound like our kind of thing."

Chuckling Sam replied; "You're right, but the driver of the car claimed to see some sort of mist before he hit the girl."

Intrigued, Dean cocked his head at his brother. "Now that sounds more up our alley."

Sam nodded. "With us separated from dad I figured we need something to focus on for now."

Dean, who was unwilling to discuss his feelings about the separation from their father, ignored his brother's comment and gazed up at the road signs. "What's this town called again?" he asked.

Sam quickly double-checked their map in his lap before responding; "Denison."

* * *

"Amelia Elizabeth Wilkins, get down here right now!" A shrill voice demanded.

The brunette who, prefers to be called Mia, was currently lying on her bed and listening to her stereo groaned before getting up.

"I'm coming!" she shouted back as she turned off her stereo and headed downstairs.

A short, blonde-haired woman stood at the bottom of the stairs glowering as the younger girl scurried down to her.

"I'm taking Terra to her ballet lessons so you need to pick up Peter from his baseball game in an hour. Do not forget!" She announced as she grabbed her purse and coat from a nearby hook.

"Amelia!" the woman snapped as she realized the young girl's eyes were going out of focus.

"What?" Mia asked, confused by the aggression suddenly being used towards her.

The woman shook her head sadly, "You can't keep acting like this, the world does not end when we lose the people we love- I thought you of all people would understand that. You need to get out more; socialize! You can't trap yourself from the world." She told her as she put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

The young girl lowered her eyes.

"Did you take your pills?" she asked and the younger girl nodded.

"Good." the woman smiled softly, pulled her hand away then walked out the door while calling behind her; "Don't forget to pick up Peter!"

The door slammed with a loud bang and the girl sighed softly.

She stared across the hallway at her reflection in the mirror.

"Maybe she's right," Mia thought to herself as she studied her likeness, "maybe I need to get out."

Staring back at her with dead eyes was a sad, lonely girl who just lost her best friend in some freak accident. Her blue eyes, which were usually bright, had turned a sallow greyish blue, her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her reddish-brown hair was frizzy. Her olive-toned skin was now pale and blotchy.

Then and there she decided she would pick herself up and at least pretend to be happy for the sake of the people around her. With this thought in her head she forced a smile before running upstairs to jump in the shower and get cleaned up before it was time to pick up Peter from his game.

* * *

Dean was confused as ever and turned to Sam who was currently interviewing the person that ran over Clover Sparrow; their victim/murderer of the week.

"Can you say that one more time?" Sam asked.

The old trucker nodded, "I was drivin' down that old path around midnight when I darn near hit a tree so I swerved the ol' boy and there she was! Her hair was standin' straight up all electrified and she let out this ear-splittin' scream. I tried to stop but the damn boy didn't wanna stop. Then Missy had this thing sor' of flying ov'r here like a cloud then poof! It's gone and the miss is dead, pinned against a tree."

"So you're saying the car wouldn't let you brake?" Dean gathered.

"Yessir!" he exclaimed before hiccoughing loudly.

Sam smiled good-naturedly, "Thank you for your help and we'll keep in touch."

The boys left their witness with a vague idea of the monster they were being put up against.

Sam started, "My best bet is a demon but I can't remember when a demon forced someone to commit suicide. Demons usually use humans as vessels so they can do their own things."

His older brother shrugged as they headed to the Impala. "Maybe it's something else? A banshee? We haven't seen one of those in a while."

Sam opened his door and climbed into the car beside Dean. "No, it wouldn't make any sense. A banshee screams when someone else about to die, not herself."

"Well then I'm stumped. Wanna grab something to eat? You can pick." He offered, getting the car started and heading onto the main city streets.

Sam shook his head, "Something isn't adding up. I feel like we're missing something…"

"Dude, if you don't decide somewhere to eat soon, my stomach is going to eat itself." Dean stated as his stomach rumbled noisily.

His younger brother shrugged, "I don't care where we eat."

"Alright!" Dean grinned, turning into a diner closest to their motel.

Sam squinted out the window. Something about this town seemed familiar to him, it was almost as if he'd been here before.

The boy frowned and racked his brains trying to determine why.

* * *

Mia left her house to head towards the baseball game she needed to pick her 'brother' up from.

The chilly march air had her wrapping her arms around herself to stay warm. It was colder than usual, she remarked as she pulled her red cardigan tighter around her body.

Her brown boots shifted the gravel beneath her. As she walked, a pesky memory triggered itself when she saw two girls laughing nearby. Cleo… Mia thought then shook her head.

"I need a distraction." The young girl told herself. She then reached into her handbag and fished out her music player.

Opening her iPod she flipped to her favorite song and blasted it loudly through her eardrums, letting the song carry her away from her bad thoughts.

Begrudgingly, Mia watched the teen girls playing together on their laptop and began remembering what happened that night:

"_Look I'm all for you kicking Jason's ass too but I still really don't think you should go to that party Cleo." She said._

_The two girls were hanging out in Mia's basement playing on her computer._

_Cleo furiously clacked her manicured nails against the keyboard and replied; "You don't get it Mia, I have to go. This may be my one chance to talk to him, get some closure-you know?"_

_Mia frowned and angled her head so she could see the screen better, "What are you even doing?"_

"_Emailing." _

"_Who?"_

_Cleo sighed irritably, "Santa Claus- who do you think? I'm asking Hailey about her party. You want in?"_

_Mia shook her head, "No. I'm stuck babysitting tonight anyway but I can give you a ride there and back. Terra and Peter won't mind coming with me."_

_Disappointed, Cleo sighed then frowned when a new email notification sounded._

"_14-year-old pregnant, what's that all about?" Cleo said skimming the subject of her message._

_Mia sat on her legs as she leaned over to see what her best friend was talking about._

"_Don't open it. It's one of those stupid chain mails. I got one last week." Mia explained reaching over to click delete on the message but her friend swatted her arm away._

_Cleo clicked the email, "I wanna read it! I love these things. Last one I got was; 'Mickey Mouse has a son and he's going to come kill you if you don't forward this to 20 people'."_

_She burst into laughter, her dirty blonde hair shaking with her giggles._

"_What does this one say: Oooh, it's a true story, I like those. 'Dear whoever is reading this, my name is Candice Allan, I was 17 years old when I met the love of my life. Fred was the sweetest, kindest man I had ever met but then I met his brother Albert, who I fell passionately in love with. The two of us were happy together until Fred found out I cheated on him; he slit his brother's throat and cut me in half. This injustice must be known; if you do not forward this in two hours I will kill you and everyone you love. Please forward this and save lives!'.  
_

_Mia wrapped her arms around her nervously while her friend snorted at the message. "That's the lamest one I've ever gotten. Not even worth the minute it took me to read it."_

_Cleo deleted the email and turned to her friend, "Man, the quality of these chain mails just keep getting worse and worse. Soon enough I'll have to- oh! Hailey replied."_

_Mia watched the blonde happily click on her email and read through the party details._

"_45 Hemlock Grove at 8, shit! That's in like an hour and a half. Mia! Help me get ready." Her friend exclaimed, as she dragged her into the closet to help her pick out an outfit and do her make-up._

Mia felt a hot surge of tears welling up in her eyes and willed them to disappear. She missed those fun times with Cleo when they would just relax and do nothing. The brunette was so overwhelmed with the flow of emotions she didn't realize she had missed the cross walk to the baseball park. In irritation she decided to just cross the street from where she was. That turned into a bad idea when she smelt the burning rubber of tires and a screeching sound that nearly deafened her.

The car slammed on the breaks and Mia stared at the driver in shock. She couldn't make out his face but assumed from the violent stop he was probably angry so she proceeded to shoot him an apologetic gesture before darting away.

Dean Winchester watched the young girl run and rolled his eyes, "You're lucky you're cute or I would be so pissed right now!" he shouted after her.

However she didn't seem to hear him as she continued putting as much distance as she could between her and the car.

He pressed the gas pedal and sped over to the motel where he'd left Sam at while he had gone off to question the Sheriff.

Sam locked the door and jumped into the Impala as soon as Dean drove up. He clutched the case files in his hands and frowned at his brother upon getting in.

"What took you so long?" he asked as Dean sped off.

The elder Winchester chuckled darkly, "Long story short I almost killed someone."

Sam ignored him and flipped through the case files. "Okay, according to this Clover lived with her parents Linda and Brad Sparrow along with her younger sister Sarah. They might be able to tell us if they've seen anything out of the ordinary about our Vic before her death."

Dean nodded and followed Sam's directions to the house while still thinking about what his brother had mentioned earlier about the case seeming odd. The Sheriff had accompanied him when he spoke with the teenagers at the party who claimed that Clover seemed really regretful about the murder, as if she was being forced to kill him. There was no mention of black eyes, traces of sulfur or black smoke. He hoped the girl's parents could give them some helpful insight.

* * *

Mia smiled and waved at Peter from the bleachers as he finished up his game. Her brother hadn't taken to the news of Cleo's death any better than she had. He had a little crush on her from the time he met her and was heartbroken.

Although, he seemed to be alright from the looks of things; he was high-fiving his teammates and grinning happily.

Mia sighed wistfully; little kids were the best. They were always happy, and life was so exciting and new for them. She wished she could be like that again; happy and carefree.

Peter ran over to her with a triumphant expression, "We won Mia!"

"That's awesome Peter! I knew that practicing with your dad all summer would help. When he gets home from his business trip we'll tell him how great you've gotten."

Peter smiled and they walked home together, Mia listened as the boy went into great depth about each player and what position they played.

Mia didn't mind hearing him go on. Baseball was something he was passionate about and she loved seeing that passion light up his face.

When they finally got home Mia grabbed him a cookie for winning the game and then collapsed in front of the TV to catch up the episodes of her favorite sitcom she had missed. Peter went off to play video games.

Mia sighed after some time. Daily routines were really getting her mood down; she needed something new and exciting rather than just sitting at home alone all day.

Of course if she told anyone this they would just tell her to go out and get a life.

Mia sighed as she enjoyed her show, that satisfied her enough for now.

* * *

"Well that was a waste of time." Dean sighed as they left the house together.

After interviewing the Sparrow parents they learned that Clover didn't live with them anymore because she'd been kicked out of the house for getting pregnant and hadn't been seen by them since.

Sam let out a dissatisfied sigh, "Yeah, now we're on a wild goose chase."

"Psssst." A young voice called.

Sam and Dean exchanged bewildered expressions.

"Over here!"

"Did you hear something?" Dean asked, looking around wildly.

Sam turned and spotted a little girl around the age of ten peaking her head out from the side of the house.

Dean smiled when he saw her and walked over to her slowly. "Hi, I'm Dean. Are you Sarah?"

She nodded and whispered. "Yes, my parents didn't want me to talk to you but I know you're trying to find out more about Cleo."

"You mean Clover?" Sam asked, joining Dean's interrogation of the young girl.

Again, she nodded; "Are you trying to help Cleo by proving her innocent?"

"Of course." Dean smiled sincerely, "Do you know where she is?"

The girl chewed on her bottom lip as if she was contemplating whether or not she could trust them but eventually she spoke.

"5 Falling Star Drive, it's the big house. Ask for Mia, she'll explain everything." Sarah told them.

"Wait, do you-" Sam began but froze upon hearing a woman's voice echoing from an open window.

"Sarah! Where are you?"

The girl's brown eyes widened, "I have to go." She exclaimed.

Without another word she darted back into the house through the side door leaving the Winchesters to decide their next move.

Sam looked at his brother, "What do you think?"

"I think we should check out this Mia." He replied.

* * *

"Door!" Peter shouted upon hearing the knock.

Mia stood to get it but was surprised to find that it had already been answered.

"Hi, I'm Dean and this is Sam. We need to speak with Mia."

Frowning, Mia glanced in the direction of the door to observe that it was wide open and someone was speaking with them.

"I don't understand." The woman exclaimed, "is something wrong? AMELIA!"

She realized her guardian had returned home in time to catch the officers on her way into the house.

Sam smiled politely, "No ma'am, we just wanted to ask her a few questions about the death of Clover Sparrow."

Mia cautiously stepped beside the woman and mumbled, "It's okay mom, I don't mind talking to them."

Unconvinced, the woman glared at the men as Mia invited them in the house and shut the door behind them.

"We can talk in the basement." She told them as she led them away from her, now-suspicious, guardian.

Once they reached the fully furnished basement-living room, she gestured for them to sit on the couch while she stood.

"I'm Mia, you wanted to speak to me?" she asked feeling her cheeks flush. These guys were really good-looking for police.

"You!" Dean exclaimed, staring at her with a mixture of surprise and fascination.

"Me?" Mia asked raising her eyebrows at the man's sudden exclamation.

Dean laughed, "You're the girl I almost ran over this morning."

The brunette's confused expression became one of shock as she widened her eyes.

"I'm so sor-"

Sam cut her off abruptly and elbowed Dean before saying; "We just need to ask you a few questions then you're free to go."

Mia nodded cooperatively, "So you guys are FBI agents?" she asked curiously, wondering to herself why the FBI would be interested in such a small town disaster.

The two men sitting across from her flashed their badges.

"I'm agent Ford, this is agent Hamill." Dean stated using his business tone of voice.

To both boys' surprise she began to laugh softly. She received confused looks from both before she explained; "I'm sorry, you must get this all the time but you both have the same last names as the two actors from Star Wars and I think that's such a weird coincidence."

She glanced between them to gauge their reaction and blushed. Both of them had expressions of fear and surprise on their faces at her recognition of their fake names.

"Sorry, I talk a lot when I'm nervous, you can just ignore that if you want. So um, what did you want to know about Cleo?"

Sam frowned, "You mean Clover?"

"She was always Cleo to me." Mia shrugged.

Dean wet his lips before speaking, "Is it true that she was living with you at the time of her death?"

Quickly glancing at another door, Mia turned to the agents and answered, "Yes. When her parents kicked her out of the house she came to me for help and I offered to let her stay in the that guest room while she was looking for a job. That was about a month ago."

"You were aware she was pregnant?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but when she came she had just had an abortion and I tried to help her come to terms with it. I honestly thought she was getting a lot better but I guess I was wrong."

Dean shot her a sympathetic look, "Did you notice anything strange about Clover? Maybe something with her attitude or her eyes."

"No. She was perfectly normal- no homicidal or suicidal tendencies I could see." She replied curtly.

Sam and Dean exchanged confused expressions and Sam cleared his throat before speaking; "Do you remember the last time you two talked?"

Taken aback by his question, Mia frowned and tried to remember the very last parting between the two of them.

"_Relax Mia, I just want to have some fun. I'm going to confront Jason about my feelings, get some closure then drink until I can't walk straight." Cleo shrugged as they reached the party._

_Mia took a deep breath and leaned in to speak to her friend, "Listen, I know you have a lot of unresolved feelings between the two of you but please be careful. I don't want you to sleep with him or do something you'll regret later."_

_Cleo smiled and rolled her eyes, "I'll be fine! Trust me, I've been planning on what I wanted to tell him, rehearsed it and everything."_

_Sighing, Mia unlocked the car doors. "Okay, but please be careful and don't get hammered. If my folks hear you coming in drunk then-"_

"_They'll kill you for harboring me, I know, believe me. I promise I won't get into any trouble, Mom." She mocked as she climbed out of the car._

"_Make good choices!" Mia called after her jokingly._

_Her friend laughed, "I will! And I'll call you for a pick up-have fun babysitting!"_

"The last thing we talked about was that she wanted to go to this party because her ex-boyfriend was there- the one who knocked her up then left her, and she told me she wanted to go because she needed closure. I was worried she'd do something silly like sleep with him again, or make up with him. Never in a million years would I guess-"

Mia broke off as her voice cracked.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she regained her composure.

Sam looked through his notes and decided to ask one last question; "Did you see anything odd before she left for the party? Maybe some sort of smoke or anything out of the ordinary?"

The girl cocked her head and nodded in response; "Actually, now that you mention it. After she got out of my car to go to the party, I remember feeling a random cold spot. I thought it was just the weather but I could almost see my breath. It was odd."

Sam perked up at hearing this and jotted a note down while Dean spoke to her.

"Just a few more questions so we can fill out our report." He said smiling at her kindly.

Mia smiled back, "Sure. Fire away."

"Okay, what's your age."

"Nineteen."

Dean smirked as he pretended to tell Sam to write the information down but instead whispered; "she's legal." His brother rolled his eyes in reply.

"What's your full name?"

"Amelia Elizabeth Wilkins."

The younger boy frowned in dismay, "Wait, I thought that the people living in this house had the last name of-"

"Miller, yeah I know. I'm a foster child but call my foster parents 'mom' and 'dad'." She explained.

She spoke again, "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any leads as to why Cleo… did those things? I mean, she must have been drugged or possessed or something. I've known that girl my entire life and she would never voluntarily kill someone no matter how angry she was."

Dean shook his head, "We're still at the beginning of the investigation but we'll check the blood work for drugs like you suggested once we have access to the morgue."

"Until then we can't say exactly what caused everything to happen." Sam replied in agreement.

"I know what caused everything!" a tiny voice called.

Mia sighed and stood up to head in the direction of the voice. "Terra, Peter what are you two doing here?"

Peter and a little fair-haired girl revealed themselves from their hiding spot in the corner and Terra spoke up; "We heard about the chain message."

Dean turned to Sam and groaned, "What is with all these creepy kids. It's like we're in the Shining!"

"What chain message?" Sam asked, having overheard what Terra said.

Mia brushed it off, "It's just some stupid email Cleo got the day she died."

Engrossed, Dean gazed back at her, "You mean those 'if you don't forward this message in five minutes a spirit will rip out your eyes' emails?"

"Yes," she replied, "I think Terra and Peter believe since she didn't forward it that's the reason she and Jason are dead. Which is so terrifying I don't even want to consider it."

Peter tugged on her arm. "Mia it is the reason! Why else would all that stuff happen exactly like what was said in the email?"

"Peter, Terra; go back upstairs. Your mom is probably wondering where you are." Mia chided, giving them a gentle shove back towards the staircase.

Both children gave in and headed up but looked back with worried looks every few steps.

"What does he mean that everything happened exactly like in the email?" Sam asked.

Mia shook her head, "Mrs. Miller is a crime scene photographer for the police. She took the photos of the bodies and Peter somehow got a hold of them. He means that the way they died is exactly like in the email."

Sam and Dean exchanged hopeful glances, suddenly realizing this could be the big break they needed.

"Miss Wilkins, we're going to have to take your computer." Dean said calmly, standing up alongside his brother.

Mia looked utterly horrified at the idea, "I'll just print it out for you instead."

She proceeded upstairs to print a copy of the email.

"I think there's a connection between the chain mail and the murder/suicide." Sam stated as he flipped through the notes he had jotted down.

Dean chuckled, "You think? This might be our break."

His brother nodded then turned to look him in the eyes. "Is there something familiar about her or is it just me?"

"What?"

"I mean, I don't know, man. I feel like I've met her before."

Dean shot his brother a look of disbelief, "You think she looks familiar? You're not the one who almost ran her over a few hours ago."

Sam's eyes widened, "You, what?"

"It's not my fault! She came out of nowhere."

His brother simply stared at him in disbelief.

"I've been trying to tell you this all day." Dean added as he sat back down on the couch.

Sam sat beside him. "Sorry man, I just-I can't put my finger on it but something about this place seems weirdly memorable."

Dean opened his mouth to reply but shut it when he saw Mia heading towards them with a stack of paper.

"Here," she said as she offered the email contents to Sam.

He smiled compassionately "Thank you for your cooperation and we're sorry to hear about your loss."

Dean handed her their business card "Call us if you see or hear anything."

In reply, Mia asked Sam for his notepad and wrote down her number. "Please keep in touch, and let me know if I can do anything to help."

Both boys nodded and Mia showed them out.

The moment she had gone upstairs to print out the email for the agents, her foster-mother was taking a shower but when she returned after the interview was over, Mia was grabbed by the wet-haired, but fully clothed, woman.

"What did they want?" she demanded, looking Mia dead in the eyes as if daring her to lie.

Mia shrugged, "They just wanted to know about Clover-if I had any idea whether she was having suicidal or homicidal thoughts, if she was into drugs- that sort of thing."

The woman blinked.

"I'm not in trouble." Mia emphasized so she wouldn't worry.

Satiated by her foster daughter's information, Irene Miller backed down and gave her a pat on the cheek. "Dinner will be ready in an hour. Why don't you wash up?"

Mia, who was grateful the interrogation was over, nodded and locked herself in her bathroom so she could take in what had just happened.

The email might be real.

Something may have possessed her best friend to kill someone and herself.

The girl didn't know whether to feel terrified or intrigued as she was currently experiencing a mixture of both.

* * *

"Sammy, I have read that journal cover to cover. There is nothing Dad ever encountered like this." Dean sighed as he lay back in his bed while Sam was hunched over his laptop with their father's journal open beside it.

"Maybe it's some sort of urban legend turned real- like bloody Mary." He offered and Sam's eyes widened.

"Read it again to me." He instructed his brother.

Dean held up the email printout and read it aloud for him. "Dear whoever is reading this, my name is Candice Allan, I was 17 years old when I met the love of my life. Fred was the sweetest, kindest man I had ever met but then I met his brother, Albert, who I fell passionately in love with. The two of us were happy together until Fred found out I cheated on him; he slit his brother's throat and cut me in half. This injustice must be spread to the world, and if you do not forward this in two hours I will be forced to kill you and the person you love. Please forward this and save lives!"

"Lame." He scoffed while Sam typed something into his laptop.

Sam smiled, glanced back at his brother and spoke; "So get this, that kid was right; the boyfriend's cause of death was the slitting of his throat and the car that killed Clover pinned her to a tree and split her in half just like the murders in the email."

Dean sat up with a bewildered expression, "You mean, you think that chain mail might actually be killing people?"

"I don't know, but I think we need to see those bodies." Sam replied gazing up at his brother.

He nodded in response, "Tomorrow morning we'll check it out. In the meantime, let's try to get some sleep."

Dean got up from the bed to start getting ready for sleep, however, Sam was insistent on being thorough with the message and read through it another few times before jumping into the shower.

He thought over everything that had occurred in the past few days, attempting to come up with an explanation for what could have killed those people.

As he finished and dried up, his thoughts floated back to the girl they met. Mia, he thought to himself as he dried his hair. There was something about her that seemed to yell out that he had met her before, but no matter how hard he tried to remember all that came up was blank.

She was a tether to the past and although he tried to brush off the feelings of dèja vu, he couldn't. The fuzzy memory of her played in his head like a broken record.

Figuring he needed to sleep, he dressed in his pajamas and climbed into bed.

* * *

Across the lake, Mia was having trouble sleeping. Her thoughts of Cleo, the email and the FBI agents prevented her from getting any rest.

Does this mean all chain mails are real? Is this some sort of conspiracy? Are aliens involved? Why did the FBI come to me of all people?

Her brain wouldn't shut up so Mia decided to entertain it by doing minimal research.

She opened her laptop and entered "Killer chain mails."

The results that popped up varied from horror screenplays to various people asking whether or not some chain mails were real.

By the time Mia actually felt as though she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, she found a website about chain mails and urban myths.

According to the website; besides the fact that writers created them to gain popularity, some of the stories were actually true and each story varies according to their origin. For example; a chain mail created in New Orleans told a story about a widow who, after her husband died, met a man who promised to marry her if she got rid of her children. She agreed and threw them off of a cliff but after realizing what she did, grief took over and she took her own life. These stories, it seemed, were based on truth but people would add things such as; 'now forward this to at least 3 people or you will die in 2 days time and usually, karma would take its course.'

Intrigued, Mia saved the page on her computer and climbed into bed, thinking over what she had read.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and Sam were up and ready to investigate the body.

They reached the coroner's office and went into the morgue to examine the bodies of both the boyfriend and their victim/killer.

Sam furrowed his brow as he examined the girl; "Her body was completely split in two when the car hit her."

Dean stood over his shoulder, "Like in Signs?"

"What?" Sam asked with an irritated expression.

"You know-Signs! That M. Night Shyamalan movie with the aliens and they try to take over the world but they get defeated by Mel Gibson cuz their weakness is water."

Sam raised his eyebrows; "Why would the aliens want to invade a planet made up of mostly water then?"

Dean's goofy smile faded, "I don't know." He replied as he began seriously contemplating the science of the film.

"Anyways, when the car hit her, it hit hard enough in the abdomen that her spine cracked and she was pushed up against a tree, splitting her in half. The cause of death was attributed to that and extreme blood loss." Sam explained as he read off the ME's sheet.

"And Romeo here, had his throat slit by a letter opener at the party." Said Dean, reading off his autopsy report.

Sam frowned in the realization that these deaths were exactly as they were in the email. The boy had his throat slit while the girl was split in half.

"Hey Sam, get a look at the stuff in her ears," Dean called as he took a swab to get a sample.

"It's some sort of black gooey substance, I think they thought it was some sort of car fluid."

Sam took the cotton swab from his brother and touched a bit of it to Dean's disgust.

"Dude," he groaned as Sam rubbed the black liquid between his fingers.

"It's ectoplasm," Sam concluded, then turned to his brother, "it's what ghosts give off."

"Wait," said the elder Winchester, "so you're telling me that we're not dealing with demonic possession but ghost possession?"

"Apparently," Sam agreed, "whatever happened it wasn't Clover acting voluntarily, and I'm going to take a guess that the email acts as some sort of trigger. When someone fails to forward it during the allotted time, the ghost takes over and forces them to kill themselves and their lover. Or in this case; ex-lover."

Dean nodded in understanding, "Man, this is spooky. I wonder if all the chain mail I've ever gotten was actually real."

His brother laughed, and Dean sighed; "Now for the fun part..."

* * *

After lunch, they cleaned up and headed out. Sam offered to check the library for any records of the people mentioned in the email and Dean was going to look into any murder/suicide cases of the same nature.

Sam stepped into the library and inhaled a deep breath. The smell of books and the silence reminded him of the library at Stanford and Jess…

He shook his head as old memories threatened to break through.

Sam quickly located the computers and sat down to look up the names of the people in the email on a database.

Meanwhile, Mia had left the house early as well. She had wanted to check out the library if there were any urban legends in her town pertaining to the email Cleo received.

Once she arrived she quickly grabbed a computer and sat down to type.

As she signed in and turned to see the people around her she noticed that there was something familiar about the boy sitting at the desktop across from her. She knew she recognized him but wasn't sure whether or not to speak up in case he didn't recognize her so she stayed quiet and continued her research.

Sam, however, was fed up with his slow Internet connection and rubbed his temples tiredly. When he did he noticed the brunette staring at him inquisitively.

Once he clapped his eyes on her, she quickly returned her glance to her screen but Sam recognized her.

"Mia? What are you doing here?" he asked in a quiet friendly tone.

The girl looked up shyly, and gave him a small smile. "Oh hey, Officer Hamill. I'm just getting a little research done."

Sam frowned in confusion of her calling him Hamill, but then relaxed remembering the fake name he had given her as an FBI agent. "Just call me Sam."

"Okay Sam." She answered politely. "How is the case going?"

He sighed, and double-clicked a site to make it load faster but groaned.

Mia cocked her head at him; "That bad, huh?"

"No it's just, this computer is taking forever to load." Sam groaned again as he clicked the mouse voraciously.

Mia got up from her chair to help him.

"Hey Sam, wanna see a magic trick?" she joked as she took the mouse from him and clicked a different window.

Sam, who was bewildered by her actions, frowned. "What?"

In the span of a minute, Mia typed in a code, clicked enter, and suddenly the page Sam was trying to load, instantly began working.

"Whoa," he exclaimed, "how did you do that?"

The girl grinned. "Library cards come in handy-they give you codes to access to faster Internet."

Sam smiled back appreciatively, "Thanks, I'd probably be stuck here for hours if it wasn't for you."

"No problem. So I see you are looking up the names of the people in the email." Mia stated as she glanced at the search bar.

Sam's eyes widened, "Umm yeah, just trying to see if this may be based on some sort of serial murder case." He lied, hoping that she would believe him.

However, Mia was not easily subsided, "Do you think that the chain mail might be an actual story?

Interested in her theory, Sam looked at her. "you think the chain mail might be real? That there was a Candice Allan who is being forced to kill anyone that doesn't forward her email?"

To even her own ears the story sounded ridiculous and Mia blushed. "I don't know, I mean, it's possible, right?"

Wearily she sat down in the chair beside him and began fiddling with her necklace.

Sam watched her with a slight interest, "So I'm guessing you're one of those people who believes in stuff like this?"

Mia smirked and gazed up at him with an aura of amusement, "You're talking to a girl who believed Santa Claus existed until she was 13."

Sam laughed, "Seriously? I stopped believing when I was like 8."

"In my defense, my mom used to dress up as Santa when she put the presents under the tree so I honestly believed in him."

Sam shook his head, "My brother told me, but I already had my doubts."

Mia sighed wistfully, "I wish I could have believed forever. Christmas just wasn't the same without going to sleep thinking about Santa coming in the middle of the night to leave presents."

He nodded and asked;

"Santa aside, you believe in ghosts?"

"Yep."

"Demons?"

"I guess,"

"Werewolves?"

"Huh?"

"Vampires?"

"I-"

"Superheros?"

"Hell yes."

Sam smiled, "Superman or Batman?"

"Are you kidding? Wonder Woman all the way!" Mia replied smiling and rolling her eyes.

"Interesting." He retorted "so what do you think about this case?"

Mia gazed up and pursed her lips together as she began thinking hard about how to explain.

"It may seem weird but I'm starting to think that the email might be cursed and something's making it come true." She said as quickly as she could, hoping that she wouldn't sound as crazy as she thought she did.

Intrigued by her explanation, Sam asked her to elaborate.

"Well, maybe some sort of spirit is actually linked to the email and when someone fails to forward the message, it angers them and they lash out by replicating the murders? I'm sorry, it must sound crazy." Mia blushed, brushing off her idea.

Sam shook his head and smiled at her encouragingly, "No, it actually sounds possible. In fact, I'm trying to research if the people in the email actually existed."

Fascinated, Mia leaned towards him as he typed quickly. Her eyes scanned the screen and frowned in shock when the results appeared.

"So there was a Candice Allan and she lived here." Sam breathed in relief, as this little tidbit of information saved them a lot of trouble.

They immediately went to the archives in order to search up this mysterious Candice and came up with very little information.

"Maybe someone in town is related to her?" Mia suggested, offering to continue to help Sam in his search but the ringing of his cell interrupted his reply.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Sam, I think we've got another one." Dean's voice came worriedly through the phone.

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

**I'M SORRY ABOUT THE LENGTH AND STOPPING AT A CLIFFHANGER!**

**PLEASE REVIEW AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ! :)**


	2. Texas Chain Mail Massacre Part 2

**I'm sorry about that cliffhanger but here's the rest! **

**I hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Texas Chain Mail Massacre Part 2**

Sam frowned and clutched the phone closer to his ear, "What?"

"While I was in the Sheriff's office there was this secretary-"

Already knowing the direction of the conversation Sam groaned.

"Anyways, I snuck a peek at her computer screen. She was scanning her email, and guess what popped up that she decided to read and delete?"

Sam groaned, "The email."

"Exactly, so we've got roughly two hours to gank this son of a bitch before it gets her." Dean explained.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the sheriff's office in ten minutes, don't let her out of your sight." Sam instructed as he hurriedly grabbed his jacket and made a dash for the exit.

Mia, who had watched the exchange with anticipation, chased after him.

"Sam! What's happening?" she asked worried to see such an intense expression on his face.

He stopped, "Look Mia, something has come up. I gotta go."

Mia watched him go with a worried expression. She knew Sam was hiding something from her and against her better judgment; she decided to follow him.

* * *

Once they reached the Sheriff's office Mia watched as the young agent walked over to his partner who was standing in front of the car that nearly ran her over.

The boys seemed to be having a heated discussion and wishing to understand what was going on, Mia hid herself behind the wall of the parking lot, straining to hear what they were saying above the bustling noises of the town.

She caught a few exchanges;

"-so what do you think we're dealing with then, a vengeful spirit?" Dean's voice echoed.

Mia frowned, Did they believe her theory?

Sam sighed, "Well it sure isn't a demon I can tell you that much. From the research I could get done at the library I figured out the person in the email; Candice Allan, existed."

"Oh yeah?" Dean's voice came slightly muffled and Mia guessed he was climbing into the car.

Sam replied, "Yeah and get this, she lived here. In Denison, about a hundred years ago."

The slam of a car door affirmed Mia's earlier assumption.

"Weird. Well then, it seems like we're dealing with a spirit then."

There was another slam and the engine began rumbling.

Mia leant towards them in effort to hear over the additional noise. It was hard to understand as she caught words such as; "email", "spirit," "computer," but eventually she got a whole sentence.

"-Secretary is going home for the day. We'll follow her there, and stake the place out until we can get a good shot before this spirit gets its next target." Dean replied just loud enough for the girl listening to discern what he was saying.

The rumbling began to fade and Mia stepped out of her hiding place to see the black car heading off to the east end of town.

Still in disbelief of what she'd heard, Mia sank to the ground and leant back against the wall of the police office.

Unbelievable, she thought to herself. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she could scarcely hear herself think.

"It's true," she whispered to herself in shock, "all of it."

It suddenly dawned on her that this was a good thing because it meant she was right; Cleo was innocent. Something had forced her to kill Jason and herself.

Then she realized that this meant that every nightmare, every ghost story, everything her mom had said didn't exist and was only make-believe really did exist.

She shivered at the sobering thought, and then pulled herself together.

Overcome by the same urge of curiosity she felt at the library, she got to her feet and walked into the police office.

She reached the secretary's desk and waited for Donna, a friend of her foster-mother, to see her.

"Ah, yes Amelia, what can I do for you?"

Without thinking she blurted out, "Is Angelita working today?"

Donna frowned at such forwardness but answered her nonetheless, "Um yes, sorry honey you just missed her, she headed home. The sheriff let her take a half day, good of him considering the circumstances with her god-daughter."

That fact hit Mia like a blow to the gut. Angelita was her favorite secretary and Cleo's godmother. She was only a few years older than them and she'd always have the girls over on weekends to her cabin. In fact, she was going to ask her fiancé if Cleo could stay with them after hearing that Mia was housing her.

Donna's words meant that her worst fears were confirmed; Angelita is the next target.

Mia thanked the secretary and bolted out of the office before the elderly woman could speak.

Her heart pounded as she ran back to the library parking lot, climbed into her car and headed towards Angelita's, which was about an hour's drive.

* * *

Once she approached the small suburban semi-detached home, she noted down the street that there was a black Chevy, the same one Sam and Dean drove. Mia was willing to bet they were hiding in there and waiting.

She parked a little further down the street and checked the clock on her dash and inhaled sharply. It could come at any moment.

There was a loud scream and Mia leapt out of her car, she watched as two figures sprinted into the door with what looked like shotguns.

The girl ran into the house without a second thought and luckily wasn't spotted.

The kitchen had blood splattered everywhere and Mia covered her mouth in shock to see Dwayne, Angelita's fiancé on the ground bleeding from the neck.

Wasting no time, she whipped out her cell phone and called an ambulance quickly.

In the next room she could hear faint murmurs.

"Look lady, you seem like a nice person and I'd hate for you to die, so why don't you put down the knife?"

An unearthly snarl was Angelita's response.

"Alright then, no more Mr. Nice Guy," a voice, possibly Dean's answered.

Mia peered her head around the door just in time to see Angelita looking crazed, black goop bleeding out of her ears, as she clutched a knife against her waist pressing hard enough for blood to spurt out.

Dean stood glaring down the girl while Sam grabbed a silver fireplace poker and swung it hard enough to hit Angelita on the arm.

A loud wail filled the room an explosion of a dark mist, which knocked Dean and Sam over.

Mia stood transfixed as she made out the figure of a young woman in the mist that moved past her.

She fought back a scream and held her breath. The lights all went out leaving the house dark except for the sunlight infiltrating the blinds.

"Shit!" Dean's voice called and Mia turned her attention to the boys who just noticed her standing in front of them.

Sam got up and walked over to her slowly before taking her arm. "Mia, hey. I know what you saw might be a huge shock but what you need to understand is-"

"Oh my God I was right! It is a ghost isn't it?" she exclaimed jubilantly.

The two boys exchanged confused looks while Mia beamed proudly.

"What?" Dean said flatly.

Sam frowned quizzically, "Are you alright Mia?"

"Fantastic! Why?"

"Because that is not a normal response to finding out ghosts exist." Dean replied, studying the brunette intensely. He wondered to himself what part of crazytown this chick was from.

Mia simply shrugged, " I always believed that. Oh and I called an ambulance for Dwayne and Angelita so you might wanna get out of here before the cops start pointing fingers." She advised as she watched the woman lying on the carpet start to stir.

Sam and Dean, still astounded by Mia's nonchalant attitude, agreed and the three of them sprinted down the street to the Impala.

A few moments later an ambulance appeared as well as a police car to inspect the wrecked home.

Sam, Dean and Mia climbed in the Impala, ensuring their heads were out of sight. Dean started the car and they drove back to Denison as fast as they could.

Mia turned red as her cell phone rang and picked up quickly.

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Mia! Thank God, where are you?" Came the panicked voice of her foster-mother.

Mia winced, "I'm fine. I just ran into some friends on the way to Angelita's and I'm on my way there now. Why?" she lied.

"There's been another attack! Angelita and Dwayne were almost killed in their own homes. Do not head up there, stay with your friends, okay?" she frantically instructed.

"Okay, I'll stay with them." She replied reassuringly.

After saying their goodbyes Mia hung up.

"Sorry," she whispered to the boys who were staring at her as if she was an alien.

"How did you know there was going to be an attack at that place today?" Dean blurted out.

"umm," she blushed even redder, "I was eavesdropping."

Mia then proceeded to tell them how she'd gotten to that current point.

They still looked at her strangely and Mia wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously.

"So I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you guys aren't actually FBI agents. Or if you are, you're like the men in black but instead of aliens you deal with paranormal stuff."

Dean cracked a smile at her explanation.

"Yeah, we're not FBI." Sam replied honestly.

"Alright so, then you guys are like. Ghostbusters?"

Sam stifled a laugh as Dean's face darkened.

"We get that a lot but no and we're not Hamill or Ford. We're actually brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester. We don't just hunt ghosts; we hunt all kinds of monsters. Like what I was talking to you about earlier in the library." Said Sam.

Mia nodded in understanding;

"So this spirit-what do you have on it?"

Dean launched into an explain what they had so far; that a vengeful spirit was possessing the bodies of people who didn't forward the chain mail and repeating the murders in the email.

"Well then, it seems we've still got some work to do. Umm, how do you kill a gh-vengeful spirit?" Mia replied.

"You gotta salt and burn the remains." Dean answered matter-of-factly.

Mia grimaced at the eerie mental picture of a skeleton burning.

Sam spoke up; "We need to get some more research done, so we're heading back to the library to find out where she was buried."

Dean nodded, "Do you want us to drop you of-"

"No way," Mia interrupted with a mischievous smile, "you guys are stuck with me now."

* * *

"Allan! I found her." Dean exclaimed,

They'd been looking through the archives for what felt like hours until Dean found her last name in records dating as far back as the early 1900's.

"It says here her family was originally from Oregon but they moved here. She was the only daughter and…"

Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother; "And?"

Dean looked up from the large book he was holding and shrugged. "The trail goes cold there." He explained.

Sam was puzzled but suddenly an idea came to him. "Check the records of the families living here at the same time with two boys named Frederick and Albert." He instructed Dean.

He nodded and flipped through the book looking for a census of the population of the time.

"Stop!" she commanded, laying her hand on a photograph in the book, "That's her! I recognize her from when she came out of Angelita."

Underneath the picture there was a caption;

Sam inched forwards to read where she was pointing.

"Tate family 1907; Jacob, Evelyn with three children; Albert, Frederick, and Victoria. Daughter in law; Candice." Sam read with a small smile.

"You were right Mia," Dean said to her with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Mia smiled at his compliment and walked over to flip through large book herself. "Here look! The deaths recorded of Albert and Candice Tate."

The girl nearly smacked her forehead in realization. "Of course! We couldn't find Candice Allan's death record under Allan because she took her husband's name!"

"Does it say where they were buried?" Sam asked, looking over Mia's shoulder at the paper.

The brunette shook her head. "It only says the cause of death, just like the email."

"Is there an old graveyard around here?" Dean asked as he returned the archives they had removed.

Mia smiled and nodded. "Yes!" she exclaimed, "there's one near my house."

* * *

By the time they reached the graveyard the sun was beginning to set in the distance. Night was approaching rapidly.

Mia climbed out of the Impala and felt a shiver run down her spine. This place was beyond spooky during the day, and although she'd come by this place before at night her heart pounded in fear. Especially with the new knowledge she'd gained of the existence of ghosts, vampires, werewolves and basically every monster recorded.

She watched as Dean and Sam walked over to the trunk of the car and pulled out various weapons. They had an air about them as if they had done this a thousand times and Mia felt a twinge of curiosity.

What must it be like hunting for a living?

The girl reflected upon this as she watched the sun descend further. She thought it must be fantastic but terrifying; like living in a horror movie everyday. Still, their life seemed to be much more eventful and important than hers.

Mia turned her head to see the outline of her foster home across the street and sighed. She'd lived in this place all of her life. She knew almost everyone and almost everyone knew her; she was the plain girl who was polite to strangers and spent most of her time at home. Ever since she was a young girl she fantasized about travelling the world, having adventures and truly living. But all those dreams died when her mother did.

"Ready to go?" Sam's deep voice broke into the deep abyss of Mia's thoughts.

The young girl took one last look at the setting sun before turning back to the young hunter and nodding.

He handed her a flashlight and a gun. Noting her terrified expression he softened, "Don't worry it's just loaded with rock salt. It will stun the spirit in case we come across it."

Mia still seemed completely unsure. "I've never even held a gun before." She said softly.

Dean slammed the trunk of the car and walked past them, "That doesn't matter. We just need to find the grave and salt and burn the remains. Now, come on." He called back.

Sam smiled reassuringly at the terrified young girl. "It's okay, you can do this."

Comforted, Mia nodded and followed Dean's lead into the graveyard. By that time, the sun had sunk low enough in the distance that sky was now a burning orange to the west and dark in the east.

"We'll be more likely to find the grave if we split up." Suggested Dean, and Sam agreed. Mia on the other hand was not as willing to do so.

The three of them headed to various areas of the graveyard, using the beam of their flashlights to read the gravestones.

Mia resolved to search by date and sunk further into the cemetery. She was a little scared and attempted to distract herself by counting the power line poles nearby.

The sound of a bird cawing made Mia scream and jump nearly three feet in the air. Immediately, Sam and Dean ran to her, expecting to find the tombstone or at least the ghost but only gained a petrified Mia.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" Dean asked with concern on his face, as he and Sam looked her over.

She shook her head sheepishly, "Honestly, I'm okay. I just… umm heard a noise that freaked me out."

They both shook their heads at the girl's jumpiness and before either one of them could offer up an idea of teaming up so Mia wouldn't be so easily spooked, Sam made a discovery nearby.

"I found it!" he cried to Dean and Mia who were just behind them.

The two walked over to the grave and sure enough, written in stone was the name Candice Allan Tate along with her date of birth and death.

Dean grabbed his shovel, "Time to start digging."

The three of them made short work of digging up the grave and once they hit the coffin Dean told Mia to stand back and hold the flashlight for them.

She obliged and watched with unease in the pit of her stomach as boys wrestled the lid open to reveal a lengthy skeleton of Candice.

Mia inhaled sharply and covered her nose at the stench of the rotting wood and excess flesh.

"Pass me the gasoline." Sam asked Mia who bent to grab it but by the time she looked up. It was not Sam's face who she looked at but the ghost's.

She choked back a scream and watched helplessly as Dean pulled out his rifle and shot the spirit repeatedly. It vanished but returned suddenly and flung Dean backwards onto a large gravestone.

Sam was now cornered; the ghost had him by the throat and was hissing inaudibly in his face while pressing him against a nearby tree.

He choked and sputtered out Dean and Mia's names and that was when Mia felt it. A shot of adrenaline pumping through her veins, forcing her to take action.

Quickly, she dumped the gasoline on the corpse as well as part of the tub of rock salt Dean had set down beside it. She grabbed, lit the match and cried out to the specter.

"Hey Candice!"

The vengeful spirit turned away from its attack on Sam with a malicious expression.

"This is for Cleo!" she shouted angrily, and dropped the match into the grave. As it set fire so did the ghostly form of Candice. She seemed to dissipate like a burning piece of paper.

Mia felt her heart still pounding and looked around her. Sam stood watching her in awe, Dean sat up from where he'd been thrown and stared with shock on his features.

She smiled; "Did I do good?"

The brothers exchanged amused glances.

"Yeah Mia," Sam chuckled, "you did great."

* * *

"So uh, thanks for saving our asses back there." Dean remarked with a slight smile.

The three of them were back in front of Mia's home and sharing beers, despite Mia being underage.

She grinned proudly, "No problem. It felt good, as messed up as that sounds." The girl winced at the thought before taking a swig of the beer.

"It's not messed up to feel good about getting revenge," Sam input, giving Dean a secretive look.

His older brother sighed, "Not tonight Sammy."

Mia frowned at the oddity, but said nothing.

Dean then proceeded to the trunk of his car to make sure they had everything they needed before they headed out.

The younger Winchester turned to Mia. "I bet you have questions."

The brunette shrugged and took another sip of her beer.

"I do have one that I've been dying to ask." She admitted to him.

"Go ahead," Sam encouraged with a small smile.

Mia replied; "What's it like? This lifestyle? Because to me it seems incredible."

Sam nearly choked on his beer. "No, no way. It's-well it has its ups and downs but honestly, I'd give anything to have a normal life like you."

"My life is pointless." She told him with displeasure in her tone, "I've lived here all my life, Sam. I'd give anything just to get out, see the world; have an adventure like you and your brother get to do. But I'm stuck here. In nowhereville where everyone knows you and you know everyone."

Moved by her words, Sam found a fire within her. One not unlike his when he was only a year younger with a burning desire to get out of his situation and live a life he's always dreamed. He saw himself in this girl and took pity on her.

"You know," he started, "if you want, you could stay with me and Dean and we could teach you to be a hunter."

Mia's blue eyes nearly popped out their sockets in surprise, "Really?! You guys would do that?"

Sam took pleasure in her excited reaction, "Sure. If it's what you want, my brother and I could show you the ropes."

Mia's spirit soared with Sam's offer and she nearly considered it until she saw the light turn on in her foster home. The outline of her foster siblings against the window brought her back to reality.

"Thanks but no thanks. I have a family here and as crazy as they might drive me sometimes. I owe it to them to be there." She said sadly, pushing away her desire of adventure.

Understanding the importance of family, Sam nodded. "It's alright. But if you ever change your mind." He paused to fish around in his jacket pocket to pull out a card with his cell phone number on it.

"Give me a call, okay?"

Mia took it and thanked him with a hug.

She bid goodbye to Dean with a friendly handshake and smile, which he returned until she opened her mouth.

"Goodbye Sam and guy who almost ran me over with his car." She teased as she headed up her driveway.

"Hey!" Dean shouted back, "Jaywalking is illegal. You can't just cross whenever you please like some…Princess!"

Mia turned back to him with a half-hearted grin, intent on teasing him further. "If you weren't going so fast I would have been able to pass!"

Dean just shook his head at her behavior. "What a strange girl." He commented before climbing into the driver's seat.

Sam watched her go with a small smile. He liked this girl because he saw so much of himself in her, he silently hoped she would have a good life as he climbed in beside Dean and the two headed onto the road.

Mia, who was in a pleasant mood, hummed to herself as she stepped into the threshold.

"I'm home!" she called cheerfully as she removed her sneakers.

Instantly she could feel that something was wrong. The TV, which was always on in the background, was silent. There was no child's laughter or sounds from the kitchen. It was only nine o'clock; where was everyone?

Mia walked into the living room and there she saw her foster-mother, staring blankly at the wall in front of her and clutching a pillow to her chest.

"What's wrong? I'm sorry I'm late, it's just you told me to-"

Then the woman turned to her with a hateful stare, causing Mia to lose track of her speech.

"Out." Was all the older woman said.

"What?" Mia asked, not believing her ears.

"I want you out of my house. I don't care where you go, or what you do. I just want you to get out of my life!" she exclaimed angrily.

Hurt and scared by the woman's violent tone Mia backed up.

"What have I done?" she questioned in shock.

The woman stood, grabbed Mia by the arm and dragged her upstairs to her room then locked the door.

"I saw you at that graveyard with those boys from my bedroom window." She hissed, "I know what they are and I know what you were doing."

"I don understa-"

"A hunter! A filthy hunter that's what you are; slaying anything that proves troublesome. Burning bodies, desecrating graves. How could you do this to us?"

Mia tried to again to explain herself, "I'm not-"

"Don't you dare lie to me! I want you out. If you are not off my property in thirty minutes I will call the police and after leaving our car at the scene of the crime earlier today, I dare say we have a bone to pick with you." The woman screeched before slamming the door behind her.

The world around her came crashing down as Mia realized the gravity of her situation. She was being kicked out all because she helped two hunters kill the thing that murdered her best friend.

Mia leant against her door and sank to the floor sadly. No tears were shed, she felt too numb to cry just yet.

The girl folded her arms across her chest and sat there for a few moments in silence.

I thought she cared about me, Mia thought sadly, Even though she could drive me crazy, I honestly believed she loved me after these past few years.

The brunette then began feeling tears well up in her eyes causing her vision to become blurry. However, before she wiped them away, two objects in her room came into focus.

On her bedside table there was a bottle of her anti-depressant pills and a large jar labeled 'adventure fund'. It was where she put any extra money she made for her travelling plans which she'd kept since she was ten.

As Mia stood up to grab the pills, they fell off the desk and rolled to her. She found this strange until she noticed the open window creating a breeze.

When she picked up the bottle she remembered, she had forgotten to take her pills that morning. Normally, this simply meant that she would feel moody, depressed, and would cause her spontaneously burst into tears but none of that had happened today.

It was because of the hunt, she realized. The adrenaline pumping through her body, the feeling of importance of what she was doing was combatting the depression she'd felt after losing Clover.

Mia then knew what she had to do.

* * *

Sam and Dean were ten minutes out of town when Sam's cell went off.

"Hello?" Sam answered, not recognizing the number.

"Sam?" came Mia's unsure voice.

He relaxed, "Hey Mia,"

"Is it too late for me to say yes to that offer?" she asked with a steadiness in her voice.

Delighted, Sam grinned. "Nope, we're on our way over."

He then hung up and instructed Dean to turn around.

"Why?" his older brother taunted, "you forget to kiss her goodbye?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "No. We're gonna pick up Mia and train her to become a hunter."

The car made a violent shrieking noise as Dean steered it to the shoulder of the road.

"What?!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Because Dean, she wants out of her life and I kinda understand what she feels right now."

"What? Like when you wanted to get out of the family business and go to college? As if that didn't turn out badly."

Sam stiffened at his brother's hostility and Dean back pedaled.

"What I mean is. This is our job-it's the family business. We don't need some jumpy teenager following us around because she thinks it's glamorous!" Dean exclaimed.

Sam retorted, "She deserves the chance at a new life! Normally people who learn about our job call us crazy and want nothing to do with us, but she actually wants to help people too."

Dean threw up his hands as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Sam," he pleaded, "I don't want her to come with us. This isn't the sort of career path teens aspire to follow. She's just a kid, she has so many possibilities for her future and she picks this one?"

"She wasn't 'just a kid' when you were telling me that she was legal." Sam snapped, and Dean went quiet.

"Dean," he started, "I'm just saying, we can train her; get her to see what this life is like and then if she still wants to be a hunter she can go off alone, or we can leave her with Bobby. Okay?"

Dean listened to the argument patiently and sighed when his brother pulled his puppy dog look.

"Alright Sammy, we'll have it your way. But I am not happy about this." He replied furiously as he pulled the car off he shoulder and back on the road.

Sam was pleased and smiled warmly at his reluctant brother as they headed back to the girl's house.

Besides, he thought to himself, it will be nice having someone else to talk to.

Meanwhile, Mia gathered everything she deemed absolutely essential to bring; such as clothing, blankets, toiletries and valuable trinkets.

As she packed, a sort of happiness overwhelmed her. She was finally getting out of this town; she had a chance to start her own life. She could help save people, and travel.

The girl took one last look before grabbing her large duffel bag and purse then heading out.

Terra and Peter, her foster-siblings peeked their heads out from behind their parent's bedroom door.

"Goodbye Mia," they whispered to her with tears running down their cheeks.

Evidentially, their mother had told them that she was going and they would miss her.

Mia flashed them a sympathetic smile. "Take care you guys." She said blowing them a kiss.

Taking a deep breath she reached the living room where her foster-mother stood, arms crossed by the fireplace.

Mia put down her bags. "I don't know why you hate hunters, but hunting with those boys has been one of the most adventurous things I've ever done and it made me happier than I've been in weeks. So in a way, this isn't such a sad parting but a start to a new life for me. I want you to know before I go that I did appreciate you. I enjoyed my time here despite everything, and when 'dad' gets home from his trip tell him goodbye for me, and tell Terra and Peter I love them. And as for you, I would say I love you and you've been the closest thing to a mother to me for years but a real mother wouldn't shun their child because they got involved in something strange. So goodbye Mrs. Miller."

To her foster mother's shock, Mia grabbed her bags and headed out of the house without another word. Her heart broke to say goodbye but it was filled with the glorious prospect of adventure and travels.

As she waited for the Winchesters, she pulled out her adventure jar and smiled. Her dream was finally a going to be a reality.

A loud honk signaled the arrival of the boys and Mia dashed down the driveway to the car with the belief that things were beginning to get better.

But they weren't…

* * *

**ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! AND PLEASE REVIEW! :)**

**Next chapter will be the Hell House episode with the Ghost Facers!**


	3. The Hell House

**A/N: **** Sorry for the lateness guys! Coursework is a nightmare right now. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Hell House**

Mia held the pistol with shaking hands as Sam instructed her on how to properly handle the foreign object.

"Just relax your right hand," he explained, gently laying his hand on top of hers to steady it.

"It's okay," he reassured her, "the safety is on. We're just going to practice aiming and positioning for now."

"That's all you're going to end up doing anyway." Dean called bitterly. He leant against the door of the impala, which was parked a few yards back from the makeshift shooting range Sam manufactured.

After driving most of the night, they stopped to catch some sleep by an abandoned farm off the highway and that morning Sam decided to teach Mia to shoot.

The elder Winchester's arms were crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed at his brother and the new girl. He was still livid with Sam for agreeing to let Mia join them. Hunting was their family business, not for some amateur, fresh-out-of high-school girl, who had never held a gun before.

Sam shot his brother an annoyed look and resumed helping Mia.

"I think you've got the basics down. Just remember to hold the bottom firmly so your finger doesn't slip and get hit by the kickback."

The young girl nodded in understanding. She was eager to please Sam. To prove that she was good hunter material and he'd made a good choice by letting her join him and his brother.

Her heart pounded in fear as Sam leant forwards to take the safety off the gun and instruct her how to pull the trigger.

"Hold the gun now, and position your index finger over the trigger, but don't pull it yet." Sam said, ensuring she did as told.

Dean rolled his eyes and called, "Sam she's gonna blow herself up."

Sam ignored his brother's complaint and gave the girl an encouraging smile.

"You can do this. Just relax a little, go to a happy place." He suggested, in attempt to get Mia to ease her iron grip on the pistol.

Dean snorted loudly at his brother's instructions.

"Shoot whenever you're ready." Sam told the girl before giving Dean a dirty look.

Determined to remain visibly unaffected by Dean, Mia took a deep breath, closed her eyes and focused.

When she opened her eyes they were trained on her target and nothing else. She held her breath, making sure her aim was trained on the silver can.

"Any day now." Dean sighed loudly.

Mia channeled all of her fury into the point where she wanted the bullet to embed itself and pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed, deafening her for a moment. When her hearing returned it was greeted to the sound of Dean's mocking laughter.

"Great shot Annie Oakley." He chuckled with a smirk forming on his lips.

Confused, Mia turned to see that instead of the beer can, her bullet had whizzed past a nearby squirrel that was fleeing in panic.

Embarrassed she turned to Sam to find him smiling patiently at her.

"Ignore Dean, he thinks he's the best shot in the world. Don't worry about it. Next time, focus more on where the barrel of the gun is pointing and make sure it's matched with where you're looking."

She smiled, appreciative of how gracious Sam was about her missed shot.

Recalling what he had said, she trained her eye and the gun to match the same point and bent back the trigger.

Another deafening shot rang out, but this time Sam was the one making noise because she hit the beer can right on the mark.

"WOO HOO! I did it!" She cried, throwing the gun on the ground and jumping up and down happily.

Dean, who had been silent up until that point, muttered; "Decent."

"Decent? Dean, she hit the bull's-eye." Sam countered in disbelief of his brother's poor sportsmanship.

"It was a pistol Sam! Only an idiot misses with those." Dean replied still staring at Mia who gazed at him in surprise.

"Good point," Sam said with a calculating look. He then walked over to the impala and pulled out one of their larger guns. He cocked the gun and walked over to hand it to the wide-eyed brunette.

Sam showed her how to hold this gun and how to stand while Dean watched with a slight interest.

"Fire when you're ready." Sam said and stepped back to give the girl room to shoot.

She took a deep breath and concentrated on her target, just as she was about to pull the trigger Dean spoke up.

"Sam, she can't use that gun. The kickback is going to knock her right over. She needs to stick to guns her own size."

Mia, who had been doing a good job masking her irritation with Dean, lost her patience.

The girl spun around and aimed the gun at Dean's shocked face.

"What did you say?" she asked with a smirk on her face from his panic.

"Geez! Watch where you put that thing!" Dean exclaimed moving out of her range.

Sam, who had been trying to stifle his laughter, grinned. "That's what you get when you insult someone with a gun, Dean."

Mia grinned too and then turned back to her tin cans and shot them. She managed to hit the three remaining cans within five shots, having missed two by aiming too high.

When she finished, she whirled around, expecting another snarky remark from Dean but was greeted to silence.

"Okay, I admit it. You're not terrible with a gun." Dean mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with the pleased nineteen year-old.

"Wow a compliment, that wasn't so bad was it?" She chided with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, don't push your luck Wilkins." Dean snapped, now glaring at her.

Mia glared back at him with a satisfied smirk still on her lips.

"Don't worry about me Winchester, I can take care of myself."

With a quick exchange of dirty looks the two resumed clearing the empty field and loading the guns into the trunk.

The three of them climbed into the car and drove off together.

Mia took the backseat and splayed out to catch some more sleep. Four hours a night did not suit her.

After some time Sam fell asleep too leaving Dean to amuse himself.

* * *

Mia awoke some time later to Sam and Dean's bickering about some childhood pranking contest.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up in time to overhear Sam discussing their new case.

"About a month or two ago, these young kids decided to go poking around some local haunted house."

"Haunted by what?" Dean interrupted.

"A pretty misogynistic spirit," Sam continued as he read off his paper, "legend says it takes girls and strings them up in the rafters."

Dean snuck a glance back at Mia to see her visibly freaked out then chuckled to himself.

"Anyways, these kids saw a dead girl hanging in the cellar."

"Anybody ID the corpse." Dean asked.

Sam shook his head, "When the cops got there, the body was gone so they just think the teenagers were pulling a prank."

"Maybe they're right." Dean replied.

Sam said, "Maybe, but I don't know man, I've read a couple of the kids' accounts of it and it seems pretty real."

Mia leant forwards to hear them better.

"Where did you read all of that?" the older Winchester questioned.

Sam almost seemed embarrassed but admitted that he'd been looking through some local mystery sites.

"What was it called?"

Sam cleared his throat before saying softly: "Hellhoundz lair dot com."

Dean chastised his brother, telling him most of the people running them didn't know anything about ghosts but Sam remained confident.

"It's worth looking into. I mean, we need a new case to keep us busy and to train Mia." He said, peeking back at Mia who smiled and nodded appreciatively.

"Besides," he continued to his brother, "with Dad gone we need all the distraction we-"

"Alright, then where do we find these kids." Dean interrupted loudly, as if to block out the recollection of their last meeting with their father.

Mia finally spoke up; "Same place you always find kids in small towns like these..."

* * *

They arrived at the drive-in in a half hour, but Mia was already restless to start. To satiate her, Sam gave her their dad's journal so she could read up on monster lore.

Dean was extremely irritated by this but chose not to comment on it.

After interviewing the teenagers, only two facts became apparent.

One; they had no shared memory of the particular details of the event.

Two: Craig took them there.

The three of them then headed out to where Craig worked; a small record store and posed as journalists to get him to talk.

"Oh cool, I'm a writer myself. I write for my school's Lit magazine." He told them with a self-satisfied smile on his lips.

"Good for you Morrison," Dean replied with a hint of sarcasm that the kid didn't seem to notice.

Sam nudged Mia forwards and she smiled at the boy.

"We were wondering if you knew of any local myths or legends you'd like to talk about." She prompted.

Craig looked at them for a moment before a spark of recognition flashed in his eyes. "Oh! You mean the hell house."

Dean nodded, "Yeah; know anything about it."

The young boy then launched into a gruesome tale of the history behind the property. He told them how the farmer living there, Mordechai Murdoch, was dirt poor. Being unable to take care of his daughters, he decided he couldn't watch them suffer and resolved to kill them instead of letting them starve. Then he killed himself.

Sam listened intently and Mia winced throughout the tale but Dean seemed the most collected as he perused the record store throughout most of the story.

"They say that his spirit is now trapped in the house forever," he continued, "and he strings up any girl who comes inside."

Involuntarily, Mia shuddered.

"Who told you all this?" Dean asked, tearing his eyes away from an apprehensive looking Mia.

"My cousin Dana, she told me but I don't know where she heard it from." Craig replied, "you gotta understand I didn't believe in it at first and now… I don't know what the hell to think."

Mia felt some sympathy for the boy. It seemed he was clearly freaked out and she knew, from personal experience, that it must've been hard for him to go from finding ghost stories as merely amusing to factual.

"I'll just tell you what I told the police; that girl was real. This isn't some prank and I swear I don't ever wanna go near that house again." He insisted.

Finding his story satisfying Dean and Sam thanked him and left the store with Mia for their motel.

* * *

While Dean and Sam argued about the story Mia got ready for bed. They'd booked a room with a pullout couch that Mia offered to sleep on.

As she slid between the covers, Dean went to turn off the light.

"Wait." Mia frowned, "you're going to sleep in jeans?"

Dean just shrugged. "Yeah, it's easier to get up if I'm already dressed."

The girl cocked her head at him.

"Why do you care?" he asked incredulously as he turned out the light.

Mia rolled over in her bed and closed her eyes.

She didn't trust people who could sleep in tight-fitting jeans.

* * *

The next morning came way too early. The three of them got dressed and headed out to the haunted house.

Mia stumbled behind the boys, nearly delirious from lack of sleep as they headed up the marshy terrain to the house.

Clumsily, she slipped into a mud puddle and managed to dirty the entire left side of her jeans.

"These are my favorite jeans," She moaned to herself but Dean overheard her.

"What were you expecting? Royal chariots to ferry you to the house. This isn't some fairy tale, hunting is hard work. You're not gonna get the royal treatment out here, Princess."

Mia scowled at him. He hated her and she didn't even understand why. He knew barely anything about her and neither did she him but she was already starting to resent him. As she followed him and Sam up the path she imagined Dean slipping in the mud and smiled to herself at the thought.

"Well this definitely has real estate appeal." Dean commented.

The house was the stereotype of haunted. It was grey, falling apart with rusting sides and rotting wood.

Excitedly she moved towards the brothers who were fiddling with some small electronic device.

"I think those things still have some juice in em'" Dean said, looking up to the nearby power lines.

Sam nodded, "That'll do it."

In spite of the situation, Mia smiled to herself, this was just what she imagined hunting to be like!

They entered the house and examined it thoroughly.

"Well I guess old man Mordechai was quite a tagger in his time." Dean remarked, as they gazed around at the painted symbols on the walls.

The brothers exchanged observations on various symbols while Mia investigated a few of her own.

Her findings were puzzling. "That doesn't seem right. I mean, it all looks like it was spray-painted."

"What?" Sam called, having heard her mumbling to herself.

"These symbols look like they were painted," She explained, glancing at the pentagram on the floor, "that's not what I would expect from someone who had 'no other choice,' but to string up his daughters to save them from starvation."

Dean groaned, and glared at her; "Well what would you expect it to be written in? Blood?"

Offended by his directness, Mia glowered and thought of a good comeback but paused.

"Actually… yeah. That's what I would expect."

The brunette flushed and walked away to observe the rest of the room.

"Dean." Sam chided.

"What?" He whispered back harshly.

Sam sighed in irritation before running his finger over the symbol Dean had claimed looked familiar.

"Well, she's right. It was painted, and recently too."

Before the older Winchester had any time to react a loud noise sounded from the next room.

The brothers leapt into action, pulling their guns out of their pockets and taking each side of the door. Dean gestured for Mia to stand behind him and she nodded, pulling out her own pistol.

Dean kicked open the door; his brother and Mia followed with their guns raised.

Instead of the spirit or a victim, they came across two nerdy looking boys wielding blinding flashlights.

"Hey whoa!" The ginger haired boy with glasses exclaimed as he and his partner raised their hands.

Immediately their guns were dropped.

"Ugh it's just a couple of humans." The boy groaned putting down his camera and flashlight.

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked bluntly as his eyes adjusted to the natural light.

"We're paranormal investigators working a case." The other said, handing Sam a card.

Sam smiled in recognition of the names. "You guys run ."

They both nodded with smug smiles.

"We are huge fans." Dean added sarcastically as he passed them to investigate the room.

"We know who you guys are too." Said one of them.

The Winchesters froze.

"You're amateurs, looking for ghosts and cheap thrills." He continued.

Dean provokingly asked what they'd come up with and the ginger haired man; Ed nudged his buddy.

"Hey Harry why don't you tell em' about EMF." He said condescendingly and Mia exchanged an incredulous glance with Sam.

They turned on the device and it immediately lit up just like Dean said it had been earlier, due to the power lines.

Sam and Dean pretended to be amazed by the device.

"Wow!" Mia replied in faux-awe, joining in the act. "Oh my gosh, you're like the people on ghost trackers!"

Ed smirked and Harry smiled although neither of them had any idea what she was talking about.

Dean spoke; "Have you guys ever seen a real ghost before."

Ed turned to him with the most serious expression he could muster. "Once. We were investigating this house and a ghost made the vase fall."

"Well we weren't really in the room but it was intense." Added his comrade.

"Yeah, stuff like that really changes people." Ed added.

Dean agreed, "You know what. I totally get the picture; come on Sam, Mia. Let's not get in their way."

The three of them exited the house while fighting back laughter.

"So they-" Mia started when they were finally out of the house.

Sam just smiled. "We see guys like these a lot. They think they know everything about finding ghosts but when it comes down to it; they've never even seen a ghost much less caught one on film."

"Alright, so now comes the fun part." Dean cut in, warming his hands with his breath.

"Research?" Sam asked, giving his brother a knowing look.

He nodded back, "Research."

"Research…" Mia repeated with a mixture of dread and delight.

* * *

After spending nearly half the day in the library; Sam and Mia met up with Dean outside with minimal information, proving yes there was Murdoch living in the house but he had no daughters, criminal record or data; meaning there was nothing to prove the legend was real.

"Yeah the kids weren't exactly helpful either." Dean grumbled as they turned the corner to the car, "I seriously think this is a bust Sam, made up for attention or something. Let's just get out of here."

Mia looked away sadly. She didn't want this case to be a bust, it was her first one and she'd enjoyed it so far.

Sam glanced at her and recognized the disappointment radiating from her features. He knew she'd been excited for this case but he knew his brother was right.

"Yeah, okay." He agreed softly.

Dean smiled, "Why don't we hit the bar for a couple of beers," he paused and turned to Mia, "and for you I mean root beer, underage."

Mia snorted, "That didn't stop you a few days ago."

He shot her an irritated look before climbing into the car, Mia attempted to do the same but was stopped by Sam who smirked and whispered. "Wait."

As soon as Dean turned on the car, the radio blared loudly causing him to jump in surprise.

"Whoa! What the-!" He freaked as he rapidly began turning the volume knob.

Sam and Mia laughed loudly as they climbed into the impala.

"That's all you guys got?" Dean asked turning to the backseat to glare at the brunette.

"No no, I'm not getting in the middle of a sibling fight again. Last time that happened I ended up with spiders in my sleeping bag. You and Sam go for it by all means." She replied insistently.

Sam groaned, "But Mia, I thought you were on my side."

"Nope, I'm not. I'm neutral I'm like-"

"Switzerland?" Sam suggested.

"Yes exactly! Now you two go start world war three while I watch movies on my laptop." The young girl stated as she pulled out her computer and plugged in her ear buds.

Dean set his sights on Sam. "I will get you back for that."

* * *

"How much longer do we have to wait out here? I can't feel my anything." Mia shivered.

"Soon." Sam promised.

The three of them were waiting in the woods nearby the haunted house. After getting a call from the Sheriff that morning, they'd discovered that a young girl 'apparently' hung herself in the basement.

Meaning the hunt was back on to Dean's despair and Sam and Mia's delight.

They were currently waiting in the dark for the cops to leave so they could investigate the house again but to no luck.

"I don't believe it." Dean said in disbelief as the paranormal specialists; Ed and Harry loudly approached the house from the other side of woods.

Mia grimaced, "Great, the ghostbusters are here."

Then Dean grinned widely, "That gives me an idea."

He got to his feet and cupped his hand near his face. "Who you gonna call?" he shouted towards the house.

The police, alerted by Dean's noise; came investigating and chased Ed and Harry away from the house.

Mia and Sam exchanged amused grins and followed Dean's lead into the house.

He slammed the door behind them and Sam distributed their weapons.

Holding the pistol in her hands made Mia feel a lot calmer, especially since the ghost was targeting girls.

They hurried down into the cellar where the body was found and began looking around.

"Hey Sam," Dean called to his younger brother as he picked up a jar with God-knows-what floating in it, "I dare you to drink this jar."

Sam just brushed him off while Dean insisted.

There was a shuffling sound nearby and Mia called them over. They trained their guns on the cupboard, Sam opened it quickly and out came…

"Ugh, I hate rats!" Dean exclaimed as a pack of them scurried out of the crate to their disgust.

Mia, who was used to them as Peter kept a few as pets, couldn't help but giggle at Dean's reaction.

"What's the matter Winchester, afraid of a little rat?"

Dean shot the girl an irritated look.

"Would you rather it be a ghost?" Sam asked with amusement in his tone.

"Yes." He responded honestly.

Mia stopped smiling and shrieked, "Wish granted!" as Mordechai appeared behind them.

Sam and Dean turned and fired a round of salt bullets while Mia clutched her flashlight in shock. The ghost didn't even vanish he just sort of flew away!

"THE HELL KIND OF SPIRIT IS IMMUNE TO ROCK SALT!?" Sam shouted enraged.

"I don't know!" Dean answered fearfully.

There was a high-pitched scream behind them.

The brothers whirled around to see Mordechai stringing up Mia who had luckily managed to fit one arm through the noose to prevent it from strangling her.

Sam began firing more salt rounds while Dean attempted to untie the knot.

"I can't breathe." Mia wheezed, her legs kicking out in desperation.

Dean groaned, "Stay still! I can't get it-"

"DEAN WATCH OUT!" Mia yelled when Mordechai appeared in front of her with his axe raised to swing at Dean.

Hearing her warning he ducked and instead of cutting Dean, the spirit's swing split the rope allowing Mia to fall and tear it from around her neck.

"Let's go!" Sam cried, firing his last bullet and leading his brother and friend up the stairs as fast as they could manage.

The three of them burst out of the house and tumbled into the grass beside Harry and Ed who'd managed to elude the cops and return with their video cameras.

Sam got up first and ran into the woods calling back; "Let's get out of here."

"Get that thing out of my face!" Dean shouted as he pushed past the boys and followed his brother.

"He's coming!" Mia screamed as she ran after the Winchesters.

* * *

Back in the motel room Sam conducted more research on his computer while Dean tried to remember where he'd seen one of the symbols in the house before.

Mia, still traumatized from the past events, decided to take a long shower.

When she finally came out fully dressed, her wet hair tied into a ponytail; Sam revealed that the website's story changed. Not only had Mordechai killed his daughters but he was also a Satanist and an axe murderer who chopped up his victims and slit his own wrists.

Dean jumped up with a 'eureka' look on his face. "I know where I've seen that symbol before."

He took them back to Craig's record store; one of the first places they checked out and Dean showed them the symbol on a Blue Oyster Cult record.

Then Craig admitted it; that he and his cousin made the whole thing up and designed the 'haunted' house for fun but now that there was a girl who died there, Craig was not dealing very well.

Mia believed him but it didn't explain the salt-immune ghost living in the basement.

* * *

Back at the motel, Mia flipped through the pages of John's journal in fascination. So many creatures she had just dismissed as a legend or fairytale were in this book; vampires, werewolves, witches. It was incredible but terrifying.

Suddenly a knock sounded at the door causing her to jump in surprise.

Taking a leaf out of Sam's book, she grabbed the .45 caliber pistol and headed to open the door. Dean was on the other side and she sighed in relief. Admitting him.

Dean found her relief comical and snickered as he walked past her into the motel room.

"Who were you expecting? Mordechai?"

Mia scoffed, "Don't be silly, Mordechai can't leave the house."

She climbed back on top of her couch to read more. As she glanced up to ask Dean where he'd been, she gasped once she realized what he had in his hands.

"Dean? Is that you?" came Sam's voice from the bathroom.

"Yeah I'm back." He called as he began fiddling with the bag of itching powder.

Normally, Mia would have simply kept her mouth shut and allowed the brothers to sort things out themselves but recently Dean had been getting on her nerves so she took this as an opportunity for payback.

"SA-" Mia began to cry out but Dean jumped and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"I will give you ten bucks if you stay quiet." He whispered.

The girl maneuvered her head so she could cry out Sam's name again.

"Twenty!" Dean pleaded, keeping her mouth covered.

She grinned and pulled his hand off; "Done!"

They shook hands and Mia climbed back onto the couch while Dean began pouring the itching powder into his brother's pants.

"Hey Dean, I've been doing some research and I was thinking, what if Mordechai is a tulpa." Came Sam's muffled voice through the thin bathroom door.

"A tulpa!" Dean cried in surprise when Sam walked through the door clad in a towel.

He hid the itching powder behind him as Sam explained what it was. Mia smiled to herself.

"I gotta go." The elder Winchester said spinning past his brother in order to reach the bathroom without him seeing the empty bag.

The brunette excused herself to laugh outside while Sam changed.

* * *

The three of them headed off to grab something to eat afterwards from a nearby fast food restaurant. Sam repeatedly scratched at himself, Mia tried to ignore it knowing if she acknowledged his itching, she would crack.

"So what exactly is a tulpa?" She asked as they sat down at a table to eat.

"It's an ancient Tibetan thought form. There was this incident in Tibet in 1950 where a group of monks took a golem in their hands and meditated on it so hard they brought the thing to life." Sam explained.

"So?" Countered Dean as he took a sip of coffee.

Sam huffed, and opened his laptop "That was twenty monks, think about what thousands of web surfers could do when they come across the story on the website."

"Wait so, these people are bringing Mordechai to life?" Dean asked in disbelief.

His younger brother shrugged, "Maybe."

"But people believe in Santa Claus, how come I'm not getting hooked up every Christmas?" Dean questioned.

"Because you'd probably end up with a lump of coal." Mia retorted.

Sam smirked at his brother's stunned response and slid over his laptop.

"Also because of this; it's a Tibetan thought sigil on the wall in the house. It acts as a magnification for meditative thought. Now think about it, people on the site looking at this symbol and thinking about Mordechai might be enough to bring the tulpa to life."

Mia and Dean listened intently as the young hunter explained that this was the reasoning behind the ghost changing to match the story people believe and why it was immune to rock salt.

"Okay, why don't we just get it removed from the website; problem solved." Dean contributed, hiding a smile at his brother's incessant squirming in his itchy jeans.

Sam grimaced, "Once Tulpas are created, they take on a life of their own so I don't think that will work."

Leaning over Dean to see the screen Mia groaned, "And look at the amount of views. One hundred thousand and still going!"

Dean sighed as he tried to come up with a way they could kill it. He then stood up quickly announcing that he'd devised a plan but they needed to go to a copy store first.

"Man, I think I'm allergic to our soap or something." Sam complained as he scratched relentlessly against the waistband of his jeans.

Unable to hold back her laughter any longer Mia cracked and Dean shot her an irritated look.

"Did, did you do this?" Sam growled at his older brother who began snickering in response.

Sam glared at Mia, "and you knew about it too!"

The brunette blushed, "He bribed me, I'm sorry. Speaking of which, hey Winchester, you owe me twenty bucks!"

Dean who had watched the exchange with amusement, quickly turned and hurried out of the restaurant before Mia could force the money he owed her out of him.

Sam called his brother a jerk and hurried after them.

* * *

"Are you sure this is gonna work, Dean?" Sam asked as they headed towards the hellhoundz lair (a.k.a their mobile home).

Dean shrugged, "It's the best plan we've got. Now, which one is theirs again?"

His brother went to check the address from the website but Mia stopped him.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say…that one." She pointed to a mobile home decorated with bumper stickers for ghost hunting and Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the side.

Dean, Sam and Mia walked over to it and knocked loudly on the door.

Ed opened it cautiously while Harry hid behind him.

"Would you look at that, action figures in mint condition, who'd have thought." Dean laughed to himself.

The boys looked unimpressed and after Dean told them to take down the website they told him off for causing them so much trouble with the police.

"I had to pee in that holding cell you know, in front of people. And I get stage fright!" Harry exclaimed angrily.

Mia raised her eyebrows.

Sam spoke up, telling them what they'd seen was real and now thousands of people would be rushing to the house because of their website and those people could get really hurt.

"Look," Ed started, "we have an obligation to our fans and…"

"Oh yeah, well I have an obligation to kick both of your asses." Dean replied getting angrier.

Sam grabbed his brother's arm, "Hey, Dean. It's alright, they're not gonna help us, even though I could tell them that thing about Mordechai. Let's just go."

Immediately the two ghost hunter's faces lit up. Mia smiled to herself, they were taking the bait.

"Wait, what thing about Mordechai?" They chased Sam, Dean and Mia to the Impala all while pleading for answers.

"Sam, it's no use. They have an 'obligation' they won't shut the site down." Mia sighed shaking her head.

Sam turned to them, "This is a huge secret and I'll only tell you if you promise to shut down the site."

Ed and Harry eagerly affirmed they would while Dean rolled his eyes.

Sam proceeded to tell them a fake story about how Mordechai shot himself with a .45 caliber pistol and to this day he's petrified of them and one shot will kill him. He even handed over the 'death certificate' Dean made.

As expected the paranormal investigators reacted positively, as Harry nearly tripped sprinting back to their headquarters to post the news while Ed trailed behind calling for him to slow down.

"I think this calls for a celebration." Dean said with a small smile as they watched the two boys scramble into their mobile home.

* * *

The three of them headed out for some dinner at a pub. Sam ordered them some beer and they luckily managed to dodge anyone who noticed Mia was under 21.

As they ate, Sam repeatedly checked the site while Dean decided to aggravate Mia by eating off her plate.

"Will you quit it! These are my fries!" She complained, pulling her plate away from him.

Dean chortled and reached around her for another one.

"I'm serious! If you want fries, buy your own plate!" Mia exclaimed as she struggled to push him away from her.

"Yeah, well too bad I had to give my last twenty bucks to you." He retorted as he munched on the stolen fries.

Mia opened her mouth to talk back but groaned when Dean reached over to steal another fry.

"Seriously? What if I just decided to have some of your beer."

She reached over to grab his beer bottle but stopped when she felt a kick to her shin under the table.

She winced in pain and looked up to see Sam shooting her a warning glance.

"Don't." He mouthed, to her confusion.

His brother snickered, "Sam's right, you should never touch a man's beer."

Mia rolled her eyes. Dean began continually pulling the cord of a fishing ornament hanging over their booth and every time the string pulled, the wooden man began to laugh annoyingly.

"Pull that string one more time and I'll kill you." Sam said to his brother irritably.

The boy laughed and told him he needed to relax. When he went to take his first sip of beer, he realized he couldn't let go of the bottle. Sam began to laugh loudly.

Dean frowned, "You didn't."

"Oh," Sam answered in a taunting tone a he pulled out a glue container from his pocket, "I did."

Mia laughed and reached over to high five Sam, realizing that was why he hadn't wanted her to touch the beer.

"So when should we head back out to the house?" Mia asked Sam after they finished laughing.

He smiled, "Nightfall. By then the information we gave them should be well circulated."

The two of them watched in amusement while Dean groaned as he attempted to pry his hand away from the bottle, cursing under his breath all the while.

* * *

When night came, they left the pub. Dean nicked the irritating carving off the wall to act as a distraction to the cops guarding the house.

Sam tied the string to a tree and they ran to the house with the figurine's loud sniggering fading into the distance.

The three of them held their flashlights in the tactical maneuver Sam taught to Mia. Her heart pounded as they searched the main floor for any signs of Mordechai. She was sure it would burst out of her chest if the spirit appeared to them now.

When they finally made it to the cellar door, Dean looked to Sam.

"You think old Mordechai's home?"

Sam shook his head in response; "I dunno."

"Me either," came another voice.

Mia jumped and aimed her gun in the direction of the voice, luckily her finger slipped on the trigger and the gun didn't fire at the two idiot paranormal investigators.

"DO YOU HAVE A FREAKING DEATH WISH?!" Mia shouted in exasperation.

"Look, we're just trying to get a book and movie deal okay?" Ed replied fearfully seeing the rage behind the three hunters' eyes.

Dean was about to yell too, but they were all silenced with the sound of sharpening metal coming from the basement.

Instinctively, Mia reached for the closest person to her, which happened to be Sam, and gripped the fabric of his shirtsleeve. She did this to remind herself that she wasn't alone and that there was someone to help her that she trusted.

She felt her heart beating in anticipation as they waited for the spirit to open the door.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Mordechai appeared snarling with his axe.

Petrified, Mia froze until Dean shouted at her to fire along with them.

The gun shook in her hands as she continuously unloaded bullets into the ghost's smoky form.

It disappeared and they stopped firing for a moment. Dean told Mia and Sam to spread out to check the perimeter.

Mia stayed close to Ed and Harry as she checked the kitchen. She heard them muttering about their camera and felt the urge to kick something. There was an axe-wielding ghost ready to kill them and they were worried about catching it on film?!

Harry shouted out in fear when the ghost materialized beside him and knocked him over. Mia spun around and shot the ghost before he could cause any more harm to them.

Dean burst through the doorway followed closely by Sam.

"Didn't you guys post that BS story we gave you?" The older Winchester asked after realizing the ghost was still there.

"Of course, but our server crashed." Ed replied apologetically.

Sam groaned and Mia cursed, "That's fantastic. The guns won't work. Now what?"

"We're getting out of here," Harry and Ed exclaimed as they sprinted to the door.

Dean shot Mia and his brother incredulous glances as they heard yells and the cry: "THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU."

Sam bolt out of the kitchen to help them while Mia and Dean tried to come up with a plan.

"The legend says he slit his wrists, maybe if we can get that axe from him-" Mia offered but Dean shook his head.

"We need something fast like, uh…"

"A fire?"

He grinned, "Perfect,"

He then grabbed oil from the kitchen and poured it on the floor as Mia ran into the other room to check on Sam.

When she ran into the room she realized they were gone and the ghost was choking Sam with his axe.

"Hell no buddy!" Mia shouted as she fired at the ghost.

Mordechai disappeared leaving Sam to catch his breath. Dean rushed to his brother's aid and the three of them ran for the door.

Dean pulled out his lighter and chucked it into the kitchen where it caught fire instantly, engulfing the place in flames.

They ran into the woods and watched as the house lit up and Mordechai watched them from the front door, unable to leave the house.

Mia caught her breath as the brothers argued over whether setting the house afire was the right thing to do. Personally, she was just happy to get the hell out of the hell house.

"Kinda makes you wonder," said Sam after a while, "if all of the things we've hunted only exist because people believe in them."

Mia's head spun at the idea and it continued to haunt her as they watched the house burn to the ground.

* * *

After some time, they headed back into town. Mia was quiet mostly as she reflected on what just happened. This was her first official case, she didn't know whether to be ecstatic or terrified so she felt a little of both.

She recalled a day when she and Cleo drove up to Dallas for a Halloween festival. She remembered feeling terrified the entire time they were in the haunted mazes but once they came out she felt relieved and light headed. As if all the fear welled up inside her had vanished. That feeling was similar to the end of this hunt.

"Congrats, on your first hunt." Sam grinned handing her a pop bottle he'd bought from the nearby store.

She thanked him and downed it all in one gulp.

Dean winced, "Great, now we're gonna be stuck with gassy here for the whole trip."

Mia snapped angrily, "I'm not gassy. I-"

Mortified, she let out a loud burp causing Sam to laugh and even Dean to smile.

"Yeah, okay, you're sitting in the backseat." The younger Winchester told her with a smile.

Mia blushed and looked away to see none other than the infamous ghost hunters walking out of the store.

"Hey guys," Ed said nonchalantly.

"Should we tell them?" Harry whispered, not so quietly, to his partner who shrugged.

"Might as well, they'll find out eventually."

They went on to tell the three of them that a producer who saw their online video, wanted to make a movie, book and roleplaying game out of it had called them.

"Wow," Sam gushed, "that's amazing, congratulations."

"That's really awesome." Dean added enthusiastically.

Mia congratulated them as well.

"Hey Mia," Harry asked smoothly, "you know, me and Ed are gonna be rich and famous."

Mia nodded, "That's pretty great. I'm happy for you guys,"

Harry grinned, "Umm, I was wondering; can I have your number?"

She froze and looked from Sam and Dean who were internally dying of laughter to Ed who gave his friend a thumbs up and mouthed something but all Mia caught was 'sex'.

"Sure," she shrugged as she punched it into his cell phone.

They said their goodbyes and when the two of them drove off Sam and Dean burst into laughter.

"I have a confession to make." Said Sam between laughs, "I called them and pretended to be a producer."

Dean laughed loudly, "I put a dead fish in their car."

By now, Mia was laughing too. "I gave them a fake phone number."

Sam and Dean paused in surprise.

"What number did you put?" Sam asked.

Mia smiled and sang, "Eight-six-seven-five-three-oh-niiine!"

Both brothers chuckled at her recognizing the song lyrics.

"Truce?" Sam asked his brother.

"Sure, at least for the next hundred miles." Dean joked, sliding into the driver's seat.

Mia yawned and climbed into the back, "I am so tired, I'm just gonna sleep and AHHHHHHH!" She shrieked and jumped back in her seat.

Dean smirked; "What's wrong Wilkins, afraid of a little rat?"

Identifying his words as a mockery of her own, she growled and chucked the plastic rat she'd sat on at the back of his head.

Sam laughed loudly at her expense and Mia turned to him, realizing he'd been in on it. "Hey! What was that for?"

He shrugged, "You should have told me about the itching powder."

Both brothers exchanged grins and Mia rolled her eyes, "Very funny. You two are hilarious."

"Welcome to the hunting life, Princess," Dean countered as he gunned the engine and blasted some rock song loudly enough to make Sam complain.

All the young girl could do was smile and shake her head thoughtfully, wondering why, despite Dean's hostility and the teasing, she already felt more at home here than she ever had at the Millers.

* * *

**So what did you guys think?! Please review-those things keep me inspired! Thanks again for reading and next chapter should be posted soon! **

**In the next chapter Sam, Mia, and Dean face off with the Shtriga from their past.**


	4. Something Wicked, This Way Comes

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I really hope you like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Supernatural and its characters are the sole property of its owners, I own rights to nothing but Mia.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Something Wicked**

They were driving down the open road early the next morning. Mia was in the backseat, writing in her journal. With all the excitement going on she'd decided to copy the Winchester's father and write her own journal to document the monsters she encountered. The first entry was entitled 'Vengeful Spirit' with a description of how she met Sam and Dean. The next was entitled 'Tulpa.' It recalled their experience with the Hell House.

That morning, Dean had received a text message from his father with coordinates to a city. Mia found this odd until Sam explained to her that it was how John told them where to find a new case.

Sam and Dean were arguing about the town while Mia was writing.

"Dude, I ran everything that town has and I couldn't find a red flag anywhere. Are you sure you got the coordinates right?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed, "Yes, I double-checked it's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. You know Dad wouldn't send us the coordinates if it wasn't important. Maybe he's gonna meet us there."

Mia looked up suddenly. She didn't really know anything about John Winchester except from what she'd been reading in his journal but she was curious as to why Dean and Sam were looking for him-what circumstances had separated them?

The brothers continued to argue over whether or not it was beneficial to check out the town.

"Why do you think there's gonna be something there for us to hunt?" Sam asked in irritation.

Dean smirked, "Cuz, I'm the oldest so I'm always right."

Mia rolled her eyes and Sam retorted, "No you're not."

"Yes I am." Dean countered with a small smile.

They continued on towards the little town.

* * *

When they finally arrived, Dean offered to grab some coffee from a nearby shop while Sam and Mia went out to stretch their legs.

"Man, how do you get used to such long car rides." Mia asked as she stretched her arms and back.

Sam smiled, "You get used to it. Dean usually stops every three hours but today he was really in a hurry."

Mia nodded. They'd been driving fourteen hours and only stopped once to eat and refill gas. Her entire body felt cramped from sitting in the backseat.

The two of them walked for a little until they came across a small park.

"Awesome!" Mia exclaimed before bolting towards the nearly empty space.

"Mia-" Sam started after her but stopped and shook his head when he saw her reach the monkey bars.

The long car ride must've made her crazy, he thought to himself as the brunette signaled for him to join her.

He laughed but waved back no.

Disappointed, the young girl climbed back onto the structure to play on it.

"The waitress is convinced the Freemasons are up to something but other than that, nothing strange is going on." Dean said, appearing and handing Sam a drink.

Sam's smile faded. "Dean, what's the time?"

"Uh, ten past four." He replied, checking his watch, "why?"

His brother gestured to the park in front of them. "What's wrong with this picture?"

Dean noted Mia hanging upside down from the monkey bars and laughing. "Uh, well there's that."

"Besides Mia." Sam countered.

"There's… hardly any kids." Dean replied, as he looked around the park.

His brother nodded, "Exactly. School's over, this place should be crawling with them."

Meanwhile, Mia smiled at a little girl who was also climbing the jungle gym.

"Hey," the older girl asked, "how come there are no other kids out playing today?"

The little girl shrugged, "They're all getting sick. All my friends are in the hospital."

Mia frowned in confusion as the little girl climbed down and headed to the swings.

"Hey Mia, get over here." Sam called to her.

Mia jumped off the structure and walked over to the Winchesters.

"What are you, five?" Dean challenged her as she approached them.

The girl glared back, "what are you, two?"

"Knock it off. Mia, we were talking about how there's no kids at the park." Sam explained with a contemplative expression.

She nodded, "I noticed that too. The little girl playing there said it was because all the kids are getting sick. Like, hospital sick. Poor things."

The three of them decided to investigate the hospital, but in doing so they needed to dress up, so they headed to the impala to find a place to change.

* * *

"Dude, Dude! I'm not using this ID." Sam hissed to his brother in humiliation.

"Why not?" Dean asked impatiently.

Sam huffed, "Because it says; 'bikini inspector' on it."

Mia stepped forwards, "At least yours doesn't have professional prostitute on it."

Dean looked her up and down. She wore a short blue skirt and a white blouse with black high heels. "Well you look like one."

She smacked Dean with the ID against the back of his head.

"Ow!" He exclaimed angrily.

Sam nudged his brother, "Dean-"

"Look, she won't even look that close. It's all about confidence Sammy." The older Winchester said, gently pushing him towards the hospital secretary.

Mia and Dean stood off in the corner listening to Sam's exchange with the secretary.

"What does yours say?" Mia asked curiously as Dean pulled his card out from his suit jacket.

"Full-time model." He grinned.

"Really? I thought it would say professional race car driver or Hugh Hefner protégé." She answered sarcastically.

Dean opened his mouth to retort but was silenced when Sam, humiliated, joined the two of them.

Dean stifled a laugh at his brother's expense. Sam, unamused by his antics, led them into the children's ward.

* * *

They walked by various hospital rooms. Sam took the lead and Dean followed with Mia on his trail.

Suddenly, Dean stopped in front of one of the hospital rooms.

Mia crashed into him. "Dean! What the hell-"

He cut her off with a finger to his lips and shushed her.

They both looked into the hospital room of an old, wheelchair bound woman. She had tangled grey hair and oddest of all, an upside down cross on the wall in front of her.

At the commotion outside, she turned and glared at them with her misty blue eyes.

Mia flinched away in apprehension while Dean continued his staring contest with the crone.

"Dean, Mia-come on!" Sam called from down the hallway.

Mia and Dean exchanged strange looks before hurrying to catch up with Sam.

* * *

"Thanks for seeing us Doctor," Dean greeted as he, Sam, Mia and the doctor walked down the children's hospital ward together.

"Oh no problem," the young man replied, "I'm glad to see someone finally called the CDC."

Sam nodded, "So you say you got six cases so far?"

The doctor stopped in front of one of the rooms and sighed sadly. "At first we thought it was garden-variety bacteria pneumonia but now…the kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their immune systems just aren't doing their job- like their bodies are fading."

Mia and Sam exchanged somber glances. It broke both of their hearts to see kids so young getting sick. Kids should have fun, be free and not have to worry about diseases.

Mia, like Dean, silently began to hope the diseases were being caused by something supernatural because at least then there would be some way for them to help.

"Have you ever seen anything like it?" Mia asked just as a nurse appeared by the doctor's side.

The nurse answered for the doctor, "Nothing, especially the way it spreads."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked in confusion.

"It works its way through families, but only the children- it infects one sibling at a time." She explained.

Dean frowned in bewilderment at the science of the disease- it was definitely off. "Do you mind if we interview some of the children?"

The nurse just looked at him sadly. "They're not conscious-not any of them."

Sam's eyes widened in disbelief; "Can we talk to the parents?"

"If you think it will help," The doctor replied skeptically.

"Sure," Nodded Dean, "who was your most recent admission?"

* * *

They met up with a pale and tired looking father of two daughters, both affected by the strange epidemic.

"Look," He sighed tiredly, "I really should be getting back-"

"We understand that, and we're sorry- but this will just take a moment." Sam replied sympathetically.

"So you say Mary is the oldest, and she came down with it first?" Mia asked gently. She couldn't even begin to imagine how hopeless the man in front of them must feel.

He nodded, "Yes, then Bethany came down with it the next night."

"So, within 24 hours?" Sam added.

The man sighed, "Yes, I guess so. Look, I've already been through this with the doctor."

Dean stepped up, "We know, we just need you to answer a few more questions."

The father looked up at him tiredly and Dean took it as a sign to continue; "How do you think they caught pneumonia?"

"We think it was an open window," The man answered sheepishly, "but I know, I closed it-both times."

"So you think your daughters might have opened it?" Sam clarified.

"It's a second story window, no ledge. There's no one else who could have."

Mia gave the man a sympathetic look. "Thank you for your time and we hope for the best for you and your family."

The father stood and left Mia, Dean and Sam to their thoughts.

"You know, this might not be anything supernatural-just pneumonia." Sam told Dean as they began to head out.

Dean's faith in his father was unwavering as he replied; "Maybe, but I dunno man, Dad sent us out here for a reason. Something might have opened that window."

"I'll tell you one thing," Sam added, "that guy we just talked to- it's gonna be a while until he goes home."

Mia frowned in confusion. Of course, she thought to herself. The poor guy probably wouldn't even sleep until his daughters were healthy again but what did this have to do Dean's theory?

Dean caught what Sam was saying and smiled as they headed out of the hospital but Mia was still confused.

* * *

It wasn't until they were picking the lock of that man's house did it register that they were going to break into it.

"I don't like this." She told Sam nervously as she watched the road for any potential witnesses to their crime in progress.

He cocked his head at her, "What? You've never broken into a house before?"

She shuffled anxiously, "No. Only once because I forgot my house key and had to improvise."

"What about the hell house-we broke in there." Dean said as he continued fiddling with the lock.

Mia shook her head, "That was abandoned; it doesn't count."

Dean rolled his eyes at her and opened the door. "Well congratulations on your first successful break-in. Your prize is to shut up and look for clues."

Mia glowered at him as she followed Sam up the stairs to the little girls' bedrooms.

* * *

"I got nothing," Announced Sam after a while of searching for clues with his UV light.

Mia investigated the window locks, while Dean moved around the room with his EMF.

"Yeah, nothing." He sighed disappointedly when the EMF radar remained normal.

Mia turned around and called from the open window. "Hey Dean, as much as I hate to admit it, you're right."

Both brothers rushed over to the window where Mia pointed at a black, nonhuman, handprint on the outside of the windowsill.

"It's rotted," Sam remarked in shock at the coloring. "What the hell could have done that?"

Dean went in for a closer look and suddenly became lost in a memory.

* * *

_He was 10, Sammy was 6; it was 1989. Dad was about to leave for a hunt, but while he was packing up, Dean came across the photograph of the very same handprint._

_"You know the rules Dean," John Winchester lectured, "don't answer the phone. If it's me, it will ring once and I'll call back again."_

_"Yeah, yeah I know." Dean answered in annoyance._

_"Hey, look alive-this is really important." His father said as he packed his bags._

_"I know, it's just... We've been over this, a hundred times." Dean sighed._

_"Yeah but all it takes is one mistake, one mistake can get you killed. You got that Dean?"_

_The little boy nodded solemnly. Oh he got it all right, the first twenty times they went through it._

_"Lock all the doors and windows, if I'm not back by Sunday-"_

_"Call Pastor Jim." Dean finished for him._

_John nodded, "Most importantly-"_

_"Watch out for Sammy." Dean answered as he snuck a peek at his little brother who was intensely watching his cartoons._

_"If anyone tries to come in?"_

_"Shoot first, ask questions later." Dean responded automatically with a smile._

_John smiled back fondly at his son, "That's my man." He put a hand on Dean's shoulder before walking out the door._

_Dean, routinely, locked it up behind him and turned to his little brother._

* * *

"Hey Winchester, you with us?" Mia asked as she noted Dean's faraway expression.

"I know why Dad sent us here." Dean finally said, coming out of his memory.

He turned to Sam, "He's faced this thing before, and he wants us to finish it for him."

* * *

When they finally got to the motel it was pouring rain and late.

"What the hell is a shtriga?" Sam asked as he climbed out of the car.

Mia followed his lead and wrapped her jacket tightly around her body. She listened to Dean's response curiously; the creature they were hunting was not in John Winchester's journal.

"Kinda like a witch, I think- I don't know much about them." Dean replied curtly as he unloaded the trunk.

"Well I've never heard of them." Sam retorted.

Dean looked up, "Dad hunted one of them in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin about sixteen or seventeen years ago. You were there-you don't remember?"

"No," Sam answered incredulously.

"Well Dad must've caught wind of it here and sent us the coordinates."

"So you think this, shtriga, is the same one Dad hunted before?"

Dean shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe."

Sam continued to press his brother with questions, "But if Dad was hunting it, how is it still alive?"

"Cause, it got away."

"Got away?"

"Yeah, it happens,"

"Not very often,"

Dean groaned, "Look, I don't know what to tell you, maybe Dad didn't have his Wheaties that morning or something."

Sam remained unconvinced, "What else do you remember?"

"Nothing," Dean replied in irritation, "I was a kid alright?"

He walked into the office while Sam and Mia exchanged looks.

"He's hiding something." Mia concluded from the older Winchester's defensiveness.

"I know he is." Sam agreed, "can I look at Dad's journal for a second? I just want to see if there's anything."

Mia handed it to him and shrugged, "Sure, but I've finished the thing and I don't remember any mention of a shtriga."

She walked inside the office where Dean was booking a room with a young boy.

"King or two queens?" The boy asked.

"Two queens, and a cot." Dean answered as he got his money ready.

The boy snuck a glance at Mia beside him, who was tying her hair back and then at Sam who was outside flipping through the journal.

"Yeah, I bet." The boy said under his breath. Clearly thinking they were going to have a ménage a trois or something along those lines. He'd lived long enough at the motel to think Dean wasn't serious about the three of them sleeping in different beds.

"What did you say?" Dean asked the little boy having caught the snide comment.

"Nice car." The little concierge lied with a smile.

An older woman walked into the place and smiled at Dean and Mia, "Hi, checking in?"

"Yep," Mia replied and the woman smiled and looked at the boy working the desk.

"Do me a favor and go get your brother some dinner," The woman told him.

The young blond haired boy stared at her incredulously, "I'm helping a guest!"

"Now." She told him and he groaned.

Dean smirked at the boy's predicament and the boy leered at him.

"Two queens and a cot." He told his mother mockingly.

Mia frowned at the boy's assumption and watched him disappear into the kitchen while Dean and the woman organized payment.

She looked over to Dean and again saw his wide-eyed look. He was zoning out again while watching the young boy pour his brother milk.

Dean remembered making dinner for Sammy while their dad was out on a hunt.

* * *

_"When's dad gonna get back?" Sam asked his big brother who began pouring his dinner._

_"Tomorrow, but you know he always comes late." Dean replied as he finished pouring._

_"I'm sick of spaghetti-o's," Sammy sighed._

_"What? You're the one who wanted them!" Dean remarked in surprise._

_"I want lucky charms," His little brother said hungrily._

_"There aren't any more lucky charms," Dean lied._

_Sam stared at him, "Yes there is, I saw the box."_

_Dean backpedaled, "Okay, maybe there is but there's only enough for one bowl and I haven't had any yet."_

_The younger Winchester proceeded to give his brother his best puppy dog look, and Dean reluctantly gave in._

_He tossed the spaghetti-o's and slammed the box of lucky charms down on the table for his brother._

_Sam reached into the box and smiled at Dean, "Do you want the prize?"_

* * *

"Dude, what is with you today? It's like you're in the twilight zone or something." Mia remarked quizzically when Dean finally returned to reality.

He rolled his eyes at her in infuriation before taking his credit card back from the motel owner.

"Thanks," He smiled at the woman as he began to fill out the paperwork.

Finally they were in their motel room. Sam and Mia pulled out their laptops and searched up shtriga while Dean made coffee.

"Well," said Sam after some time, "you were right, it was hard to find. They're sort of witch-Albanian but the legends date back to ancient Rome."

Mia scooted over on the bed to glance at Sam's laptop screen.

"It says they feed off of 'spiritus vitae'." Sam continued.

"Spirity what?" Dean asked.

"Spiritus Vitae, it's Latin for 'breath of life'." Mia answered. Latin had been her best class in high school, along with Ancient History.

Dean coughed under his breath, "Nerd."

Mia shot him a dirty look and Sam went on reading, ignoring his brother's comment.

"It's like a 'life-force' or 'essence,'" Sam explained and Dean nodded, adding that it explained why the doctor at the hospital had said the kids' bodies seemed to be 'wearing out'.

"Yeah, shtrigas can feed off of anyone but they prefer-"

"Children," Dean finished for his brother.

"Probably because they have a stronger life force." Sam added, "oh, and get this; they are immune to the weapons of God and man."

Mia groaned, "Great, how do we kill a thing with no vulnerabilities?"

Dean frowned, "That website is wrong; she's vulnerable when she feeds. That's when how we kill her."

Sam and Mia both looked up at him in surprise.

"Since when did you become a shtriga expert?" Mia asked as she crossed her arms.

"It's called listening." Dean retorted, "My dad told me, and I remembered."

"So anything else Dad might have mentioned?" Sam asked sarcastically.

"Nope that's it." Dean responded levelly.

Sam continued to stare at his older brother in disbelief. How was it Dean remembered all of this? Did his unwavering memory have to do with the fact that the monster got away?

"So, if we can shoot this thing while it's feeding, then we need to find it." Mia said, breaking the silence.

Sam stood up, "That's gonna be tough, considering they take on a human form during the day. Usually, it's a feeble old woman-probably that's how the whole witch/crone thing got started."

Mia and Dean stared at each other, "The woman at the hospital!" They cried in unison.

"It makes sense," Dean continued, "I was looking at all the houses she hit and dead center is the hospital."

Mia nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! And did you see the upside down cross? It makes perfect sense."

"What?" Sam inquired, baffled at the sight of Dean and Mia actually working together without killing each other.

The two of them explained to Sam what they saw and they immediately headed out to the hospital to see her.

* * *

They snuck into the hospital, past the doctor who was leaving for the night and headed to the room.

Dean pulled out his gun as they entered the dark room. The three of them surrounded the sleeping old woman in her wheelchair and aimed their guns on her.

Dean leant towards her when suddenly she awoke.

"WHO'S THERE?" She thundered, scaring Dean so badly he flew back against the wall.

Mia gasped loudly and Sam jumped before turning on the lights.

She accused them of stealing her things and Sam reassured her that they weren't going to hurt her and they were just sent to check on her.

"We're sorry, we thought you were asleep." Mia said relieved that she wasn't going to kill them.

"I was sleeping with my peepers open." The old woman cackled, "And fix that crucifix! I've already asked four damn times."

Mia sighed in disappointment while Dean fixed the cross. They were back to square one.

* * *

By the time they got back to their motel the sun had risen.

"AHAHAHA, 'I was sleepin' with my peepers open." Sam laughed loudly as they got out of the car.

"I would've smoked that old lady, it's not funny!" Dean protested but Mia began laughing too.

"You should have seen your face Dean, it was priceless! I wish we took a picture." She cried.

Dean narrowed his eyes at her, "Why are you laughing? You were just as convinced as I was that she was the witch."

"I know, but I'm sorry- the way you jumped and threw yourself at the wall was hilarious!" She said as she began laughing even harder along with Sam.

Dean grumbled, "Yeah, laugh it up. Now we're screwed, we have no idea where she could-"

He paused when he recognized the boy from the front desk sitting outside, looking miserable.

"-be." He finished.

He walked over to the boy while Sam and Mia stopped laughing.

They followed Dean over to him. The older Winchester crouched down beside him.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

With tear-filled eyes the young boy choked, "My brother-he's sick. He's in the hospital with pneumonia."

Mia's eyes widened and she nudged Sam.

That meant the monster had visited last night.

"It's all my fault," the boy lamented.

"Hey," Dean said, "no it's not."

"Yes it is; I should've made sure the window was latched. Now he's sick and there's no one to blame but me."

Dean and Sam exchanged looks.

"Look," Dean told the boy reassuringly, "I can promise you that it's not your fault."

"Yes it is," The young boy insisted, "it's my job to look after him,"

That sentence struck a chord with Dean whose face fell.

Sam and Mia saw it and both wondered what Dean was thinking.

The boy's mother emerged from the office and called him, "Michael,"

She explained to him that he needed to stay there while she went to the hospital and he protested, begging her to let him see his brother.

"Hey Michael," Dean called the boy over, "I know how you feel. I'm a big brother too but you gotta go easy on your mom, okay?"

Michael sighed dejectedly.

Dean walked over to the frantic woman who Sam was currently helping with her bags.

"Look lady, you're in no condition to drive. Let me give you a lift." Dean offered.

"Oh I couldn't possibly-oh alright." She gave in and tossed him the keys before kissing her son goodbye.

Dean walked over to them. "We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead."

He then got in the car, leaving Michael, Sam and Mia alone.

"So," Mia started casually, "you got any board games?"

* * *

In the end, Sam decided to leave to do research at the library, Dean checked on Michael's brother, Asher, at the hospital and Mia decided to stay with Michael and keep him company.

"You know, you don't have to stay with me." Michael said as he rolled the dice for Clue.

Mia shrugged, "I know, but I figure it must be lonely here for you without your mom or brother."

Michael looked down in shame.

"Hey, don't make that face. This wasn't your fault. People get sick all the time, and that window isn't exactly made of titanium."

He glanced up, "I should have-"

Mia interrupted him, "No. You didn't do anything wrong, you're a good big brother and Asher is lucky to have you. Beating yourself up about something out of your control isn't going to make your brother any better, and I don't think he'd want you to do that anyways."

Michael smiled in spite of the circumstances.

"There you go," Mia, grinned back, "I promise, he'll get better. In the meantime, go Colonel Mustard, I want to make my assumption already."

He obliged and moved his character. "How old are you Mia?"

"Nineteen."

Michael frowned, "You seem older than nineteen."

Mia shrugged, "That's because when you road trip with Sam and Dean, sleeping is against the rules."

"Dean's the one who went to help my mom right?"

"Yep."

Michael nodded, "He seems like a nice guy."

Mia snorted sarcastically.

The young boy frowned, "You don't like him?"

Mia sighed, "It's complicated. He hates me for some reason and acts like everything I say doesn't matter."

"But, why are you staying with him if he hates you?" Michael asked.

"Because he and his younger brother, Sam, they're sort of um, training me."

Mia twirled her necklace nervously, had she said too much?

"Training you… to be like a secret agent or something?" Michael inferred and Mia smiled.

"Yeah, something like that-but it's top secret."

The boy raised his eyebrows but didn't argue.

"I'm just an amateur but I'm hoping one day to become a full-time agent, like Sam and Dean." She confided.

Just then her phone rang with Sam's caller ID.

"I need to take this, and if you peek in that confidential envelope, you're in huge trouble, mister." Mia threatened as she got up from the table.

"Sam?"

"We're on a three-way call with Dean. He said the brother isn't looking too good." Sam reported sadly.

Mia glanced back at Michael who was concentrating on his cards.

"Poor boy," she sighed.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "Sam, what did you find out at the library?"

"I checked out where it was around the date you said Dad was in Fort Douglas- same deal. Before that it was Ogdenville, North Havenbrooke- it seems like this happens regularly, every fifteen to twenty years. And guys; this thing is just getting started. It goes on for months, puts dozens of kids into comas then they all die."

Mia covered her mouth so Michael wouldn't hear her gasp of shock.

"How far back does this thing go?" She asked.

"About the 1890's," Sam replied as he flipped through old newspaper headlines.

"Wow." Sam exclaimed.

"What?" Dean asked.

"I'm looking at a photograph of the doctors in the 1890's and guess who's there? Hydecker-the doctor who helped us."

Mia smacked her own forehead, "Of course! It makes perfect sense; nobody would ever suspect the doctor. He's the kind of person everyone trusts and with his position he could continue draining life forces without anyone suspecting."

"You sure about this?" Dean asked his brother and Sam affirmed it.

"Okay," Dean said, "How's Michael holding up?"

Mia looked back to the young boy, "He's okay, he still blames himself for everything. I am trying to cheer him up."

"Well, tell him his mom sends her love," Dean added, "I'll talk later."

He hung up the phone.

"I'll meet you back at the motel in fifteen minutes." Sam told Mia before hanging up as well.

She put away her phone and returned to Michael's game.

"Your mom says hi." Mia told him and he smiled.

"Since it's still my turn I want to make an accusation."

"You do that," Mia encouraged and Michael sat up straighter.

"It was Mrs. Peacock, in the Study with the wrench." He announced.

Mia checked her cards. "You're, you're right. You little cheater; I told you not to open the confidential envelope!"

Michael laughed at her surprise, "Yeah, but you never said I couldn't look at your cards."

The girl shook her head and smiled, "Well played."

* * *

"That son of a bitch, he just leered at me, 'all I care about are those kids'. Liar, rotten dirty, asshole." Dean cursed as he threw his jacket on the bed.

"Personally I'm surprised you didn't shoot him right there." Sam said and Mia made a sound of agreement.

"No for two reasons; I'm not gonna open fire on a frickin' pediatrics ward, and it wouldn't even leave a mark on him. Three, I didn't have my gun."

"So you mean, you didn't because you didn't have your gun basically." Mia figured.

"Yeah, good thing too or that place would have probably blown to bits."

"You've grown wise in your old age Dean." Sam smirked.

"At least now, we can get him." Mia sighed as she sat on the couch.

"How?" Dean asked.

"Simple- the shtriga works through families. Since Asher got attacked last night, he's gonna go for Michael tonight."

Sam's eyes widened at Mia's words, "Then we gotta get him out of here."

"No," Said Dean, "we can use him as bait."

"Are you nuts?! No way, forget it!" Sam yelled in disbelief.

"It's the only way we can get this thing." Dean shouted back.

"Michael's a kid! It's out of the question. Can you believe this Mia?" He asked his friend but Mia was staring at Dean curiously.

"Sam, Dad did not send me here so I could walk away. I'm the one who screwed up and there's no telling how many kids got hurt because of me." Dean admitted in shame.

"Wait, what?" Mia questioned, "Is this why the shtriga got away? You did something?"

Dean didn't reply.

"Dean, we know you've been hiding something." Sam told his brother.

"Tell us what's going on." He added.

"Fort Douglas, Wisconsin." Dean started.

"We were stuck in the motel for three days and I was climbing the walls. I left while you were asleep, Sam. I went next door to play at the arcade- it was just for a half hour; that was it. When I got back to the motel, the shtriga was in your bedroom, bent over you. I panicked, I grabbed Dad's gun and went to take my shot but I couldn't do it. I was too weak, and scared. It was going to get you, but then Dad came home and he shot the thing ten times until it jumped out the window and got away. Luckily, you were okay. Dad was pissed, he yelled at me for leaving you and ever since he's never looked at me the same. I don't blame him; he gave me an order and I didn't listen-almost got you killed. Anyways, he grabbed us and dropped us off at Pastor Jim's but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga disappeared. It hasn't resurfaced until now."

"Dean, you were just a kid." Sam replied sympathetically.

"Don't... Dad knew this was unfinished business for me and that's why I have to finish it." Dean said.

"But using Michael as bait, I just…" Sam sighed.

"Believe me, I don't like it either, but it's the only way." Dean then looked at Mia who was staring at the ground.

"What do you have to say, Princess?" He mocked, believing Mia was going to make fun of him for his mistakes.

Instead, she looked him square in the face. "Let's do it."

* * *

The first attempt of asking Michael ended in disaster. He refused to help them and called them all insane. Despite all that, Dean had been extremely kind and understanding towards the boy.

He revealed a caring side to him that Mia never knew existed. She thought Dean was a selfish jerk, but now she could see that above everything, he really cared about Sam, and he truly wanted to help those kids.

Don't get me wrong, she thought to herself, I still think he's an ass, but he does have many layers-like an onion.

She respected him for believing he needed to fix his mistakes and after Michael had kicked them all out. She decided to try talking to the boy again.

"I thought I told you guys to go away." Michael said as Mia walked into the office.

"Relax, I'm not here to yell at you. I just want to talk to you about what Dean said."

He shook his head, "That was a crazy idea, me being bait. I could get killed!"

"Or you couldn't," Mia chimed in, " I know it's a lot to soak in, trust me-I have been in your shoes before. But I swear to you, Sam and Dean are the best shots I've ever met. You can trust them, I promise. Dean would never let you get hurt, he told me so himself."

Michael looked at her skeptically, "I thought you didn't like Dean."

Mia sighed, "I know, but I respect him. That monster came after his brother when he was about your age and he couldn't stop it, that guilt has haunted him for years. Now, he can finally get a chance to finish this if you help us."

The boy looked down, thinking it all over. "If I help you, will my brother and all those kids at the hospital get better."

"I don't honestly know. I believe they will." Mia replied, " I believe Dean and Sam will kill it and you won't ever have to worry about it hurting you, your brother or anyone ever again."

He seemed to be seriously contemplating it and Mia decided to leave him with his thoughts.

"I know it seems really scary, but if you do it, you'll be a hero. Anyways, in case you change your mind, you know where to find us."

She walked out of the office and back to the motel room, hoping that Michael would decide to help them. A lot of children's lives were at stake, and she knew if they missed their chance they'd have to wait another fifteen to twenty years for another shot.

Moments after she got into the motel room there was a knock at the door.

Dean answered it and spoke to Michael who stood anxiously outside.

"You said; you're a big brother." He said.

"Yeah," Dean replied.

"You'd take care of him- do anything for him, right?"

Dean looked back at Sam who was watching the exchange with interest.

"Yeah I would."

"Me too," Michael said courageously. He glanced over to Mia then back to Dean. "I'll do it."

The three hunters sighed in relief and gratitude.

* * *

They got to work. Mia set up a hidden camera in the bedroom that linked to Sam's laptop in the main room.

In the meantime, Dean was instructing Michael on what to do.

"That camera she's setting up links to the next room, we'll be able to see when it comes in. Then we'll come in here with guns, as soon as we come in I want you to hide under the bed okay?"

"What if you shoot me?"

Dean replied calmly, "We won't shoot you. We have very good aim. Well, some of us do."

He gestured over to Mia who rolled her eyes at him, "Hey, 3 out of 5 isn't bad, and I'm getting better."

Dean smirked but then resumed his composure, "Don't worry, we won't shoot until you're out of the way. Have you ever heard a real gunshot before?"

Michael shook his head.

"Okay, well it's gonna be really loud- a lot louder than the ones you hear in the movies. So when we come in, get under the bed and cover your ears; don't come out until we call you, okay?"

The boy began looking scared and Mia noticed.

"You sure you wanna do this? You know you don't have to, we won't be mad." She told him honestly.

He shook his head vigorously, "No, no I'm fine just don't shoot me."

Dean nodded, "We won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

He then stood up and left Mia and Michael in the room together.

"Is this what you said you were training for?" Michael asked, "Hunting these monsters?"

Mia turned around and smiled at him. "Yeah, I want to help them hunt and kill monsters so I can save people like you and your brother from getting hurt."

"I think you'll be a great monster hunter." He told her and she smiled graciously.

"Thank you. Well, I'm gonna go now, but I promise, you can trust us okay? We know what we're doing, and we can't thank you enough for doing this."

She joined the Winchesters in the living room.

"Please tell me this is going to work." She sighed as she sat down on the couch beside them.

"I can't." Dean replied as he glued his eyes to the screen.

"Some comfort you are." Mia muttered.

* * *

Sometime later Mia fell asleep and woke up startled.

"What time is it?!" She rasped as she sat up.

"Shut up!" Dean hissed, "you'll scare it away."

"It's 3," Sam whispered to her, "still no shtriga."

Mia sighed and stared at the monitor. She hated herself for falling asleep, granted it was only an hour but she felt like she'd betrayed Michael.

Dean and Sam began having a deep conversation as Sam apologized for always yelling at his brother for following their dad's orders.

Mia watched the screen closely; Michael was still awake. Then again, she didn't blame the kid, if she was in his position she wouldn't sleep a wink.

"Look," Dean remarked as he pointed at the moving shape in the window-it was the shtriga.

Mia grabbed her gun and the brothers did the same as they waited for it to begin feeding.

"Now?" asked Sam as the creature crawled into the window.

"Not yet." Dean replied.

Mia's heart hammered in her chest.

"Now?" She asked Dean, as it got closer to the bed.

He shook his head.

Unable to take the anticipation, Mia stood up.

"Now!" Dean cried softly.

The three of them ran to the door and kicked it open to reveal the black-cloaked shtriga that began feeding on Michael.

"HEY!" Dean shouted as loudly as he could.

The monster looked up and Michael rolled out of his bed.

The moment he hit the ground, the Winchesters and Mia began shooting.

They unloaded bullets until the creature fell to the ground.

Dean called, "Hey Mike, you alright?"

"Yeah," came the boy's terrified reply.

Dean told him to stay down while he went to check on the shtriga.

"I think we got him." He sighed in relief as he looked over to his brother.

Just then, the monster sprung to his feet, grabbed Dean around the neck and threw him into the bookshelf.

"Dean!" Sam cried out.

Mia began shooting again but the creature grabbed her by the head and slammed her onto the floor.

It went for Sam next, taking him in a chokehold and pushing him onto the bed.

Sam fought with the creature as he attempted to reach his gun and shoot it but the creature forced him down and began feeding on him.

Dean got up and shot the creature dead.

"You okay, little brother?" Dean asked, glaring at the shtriga's dead body.

Sam replied that he was fine, and Michael crawled out from under his bed.

Dean got up, and fired more bullets into the dead creature until it began disintegrating.

"It's okay Michael, you can come out." Dean cried.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Michael called back.

Sam and Dean turned around in confusion until they realized he meant Mia.

Sam sank to his knees, "Mia!"

Dean shook her; "Mia, Mia wake up."

Finally, she began to come to.

"Did you get it?" She asked with her eyes still shut.

Dean smiled in relief and patted Michael on the back. "Yeah, we got him."

* * *

Mia held an ice pack to the back of her head, which was bruised greatly.

"So, you shot the shtriga as it was trying to kill Sam?" She asked Dean while he packed up the car.

"Yep."

"How fortuitous." She remarked as she leant against the car.

"That was a big word," Dean commented insultingly, "Is your head okay?"

Mia said nothing because as Dean asked the question, Michael's mom drove up.

"Joanna, is Asher okay?" Sam asked when he recognized the woman.

"Yes! Have you seen Michael?"

No sooner had his mother called his name that the boy came running out of the office to hug his mom.

"Does this mean Asher is doing better?"

"Uh huh, it's a miracle! Him and the rest of the kids started to magically recover, Dr. Travis says they'll all be able to come home soon." She told him happily.

"Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?" Sam queried.

"Umm, I think he was sick."

Mia and the Winchester brothers exchanged secret smiles. How ironic.

Do you want to see Ash now?" She asked Michael with a smile.

The boy jumped in excitement and ran to the car.

"I'd better go before he hotwires the car-thanks for your help." Joanna said before darting into her van.

"You know, it's too bad. Michael having to grow up now, knowing there's things to fear in the dark." Sam commented, "Sometimes…sometimes I wish I could have that childhood innocence."

Mia looked down. She didn't. She was glad she knew what lurked in the night because then she could protect herself and others. She believed she was better off, knowing creatures like the shtriga exist.

"If it means anything, I wish you could too." Dean sighed remorsefully.

They all climbed into the car and drove off.

If this hunt has taught me anything, Mia recorded in her journal, it's taught me that being a hunter means being a protector. You have to protect people from demons, ghosts, and monsters, and keep them from seeing the creepy things in the dark because you have to protect their innocence.

She put down her pen and looked at the older Winchester who had popped in one of his tapes.

As much as he drove her crazy, she did have to admit he was a good big brother with the capacity to care a lot about people, even if the people weren't her.

Dean loved Sam more than anything, and he'd proven that many times throughout this trip. Mia felt envious, she wished she had a sibling as devoted as Dean was to protecting his little brother.

Also, she recorded, when you wake up after being knocked out, your head hurts like a bitch.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone for reading and please keep reviewing! Let me know what you think so far-I've got big plans for this fic! Reviews are the best-they inspire me to keep writing! Keep on reading and I just wanna let you guys know that I'm super grateful you're reading this!**

_**Next: Dean, Sam and Mia investigate a haunted picture that kills its owners.**_


	5. Provenances

**A/N: Here's Chapter 4! I really hope you guys enjoy this! Thanks for all the reviews and views and please keep them coming!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Provenance**

"You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious, Dean!"

"You actually-"

"Shut up, you guys!" Sam snapped in irritation.

Ever since they'd hit the road that morning, all Dean and Mia did was bicker nonstop.

"Can't you two go ten minutes without arguing?" Sam asked in exasperation.

"NO!" Dean and Mia shouted in unison.

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose as he attempted to zone out of whatever argument they were currently having; this time it was something about Mia's favorite band.

"You actually think Coldplay is better than Led Zeppelin?" Dean snorted in disbelief.

Mia crossed her arms in frustration.

"Of course! At least Coldplay is still relevant today! Unlike those stupid rock bands you listen to nonstop. I swear, if I have to listen to Thunderstruck one more time I'm gonna-"

Just then, Dean turned up the radio, which was blasting Shoot to Thrill-ACDC until it drowned out Mia's complaints.

"THAT'S IT!" Mia shouted as she pulled out her iPod and plugged in her headphones before cranking up the volume to the max.

Now Sam was stuck with rock music blaring on the radio as his brother sung along, and the blasting pop beats coming from Mia's headphones. He sighed and stared out the window in defeat; they needed a case.

* * *

Later that day, they decided to hit a bar for a drink and dinner. Dean spent his time there hitting up some chicks, while Mia played darts and Sam rifled through local newspapers to see if he could find them a new case.

"Hey, Sam! I got a bulls-eye!" Mia cheered ecstatically.

Sam glanced up from his research and shot the happy brunette a smile before returning to his reading.

"Uh, Mia, wanna take a look at this?" Sam called as he found an intriguing headline.

Mia put down her darts and took a swig of beer before she sat down beside Sam.

"Couple found with their throats slashed. Hmm, it doesn't sound like our kind of case." Mia mused as she scanned the article.

Sam pointed at a particular point, "I know but get this; it says that the doors and windows were locked, no sign of break in, no prints, and no murder weapons."

The brunette's eyes flashed in interest, "Okay, that definitely sounds like our thing."

The boy nodded in agreement and glanced across the bar to where his older brother was flirting with two girls.

They made eye contact and Sam waved Dean over, but Dean ignored him.

Sam continued to flag down his brother, but to no avail.

"Unbelievable," the younger Winchester grumbled.

Mia took another long sip of her beer before standing up. "I've got this."

She waltzed over to Dean, and slapped him, hard, across the face.

"That's for giving me herpes you, jerk!" She shrieked before turning on her heel and walking back to Sam, who was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

Dean looked utterly horrified by Mia's actions and so did the blonde and brunette girls he had talked to.

"Ladies! It's not true, I swear! I've never slept with her." Dean scrambled, but the damage was done, and the two women walked away, shaking their heads in disgust.

Dean furiously stomped over to Sam's table and gave Mia the dirtiest look he could manage.

"What the hell was that?!" He shouted at the tipsy girl.

"What? You weren't paying any attention to us, and I figured without them distracting you, we'd be able to get you to look into this new case."

The heated fury building within Dean was unrelenting, but at the words 'new case', he calmed down a little.

"What new case?"

Sam cleared his throat; "Um, I found this newspaper article, about a couple whose throats were slashed in New York; there were no prints, no signs of break in and no murder weapons."

The girls who were still staring at Dean in revulsion, prevented him from focusing on his brother's explanation.

"Dude, let it go. There'll be more girls." Sam groaned at his brother's expression.

"Yeah yeah, but if our little attention craving Princess here hadn't gone and freaked 'em out, I would've gotten dates for both of us." Dean responded with an evil glare at Mia.

Sam rolled his eyes, "I can get my own dates."

"But you don't." Dean shot back.

"The case, Dean, focus. Anyways, I was looking through Dad's Journal and I found out that it's not the only thing that's happened in upstate New York. He's listed similar incidents here that occurred in 1912, 1945 and 1970. They all have the same MO; doors locked, throats slit, so much time has passed between the murders that no one's seen a pattern, but Dad did."

Dean nodded in agreement. Usually when John was involved, he was more onboard with a case. "Alright, I'm with you, we'll check this out first thing, but for now I'm gonna take another crack at some other girls."

Mia smiled mischievously, "Good luck, I think the little herpes incident has basically spread across the bar."

He looked up and saw almost every girl in the room giving him a dirty look.

"Have I mentioned how much I don't like you?" He snarled at her.

Mia pretended to check her watch. "Not since four."

* * *

The next morning the three of them were up at the crack of dawn and ready to investigate the house where the young couple had been murdered.

But Dean, who had somehow managed to sleep with a girl from that bar last night, fell asleep on the ride over. It was up to Sam and Mia to check out the home.

"Anything?" Sam called after a few minutes of walking around the empty house with the silent EMF.

Mia sighed disappointedly as she checked her own EMF, "Nada. Maybe there is no case after all, just weird coincidences."

Sam shook his head, "There are no coincidences in this job. Trust me. Come on, let's not give up just yet."

They headed back to the Impala where Dean was sleeping in the passenger seat.

"Wanna really mess with him?" Sam asked Mia with a big smile.

She nodded enthusiastically.

The boy reached his arm through the driver window and slammed his hand down on the horn causing it to go off and startle Dean.

"Dude!" He called out in irritation.

Sam just laughed and Mia joined him.

"Did you find anything in the house?" Dean grumbled to his brother as he sat up.

"Nope, and I researched the history of the house last night while you were… out. Still nothing."

"Then maybe it's some sort of cursed object or hex." Dean replied dismissively.

"Yeah maybe, but there's nothing in the house. It's completely empty." Mia retorted.

At her words, Dean's eyes widened in alarm. "Where did all their furniture and stuff go then?"

"A charity auction." Sam replied.

* * *

As soon as they got to the auction house, Mia knew they did not belong there.

Everyone wore fine dresses and suits while she, Sam and Dean were still wearing their hunting clothes, consisting of jeans and hoodies. Even their car looked out-of-place among the various Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Mercedes's parked in the lot.

The moment they walked into the auction Dean began shoving fistfuls of appetizers into his mouth.

"Hello I'm Mr. Blake; can I help you?" An older looking man wearing a fine suit asked.

"Yes, I'd like some Champagne." Dean asked with a mouthful of mini quiche.

"Dean, he's not a waiter." Mia hissed at the older Winchester.

Sam reached his hand out to the man, "I'm Sam Connors and this is my brother Dean and our sister Mia. We represent Connors Paintings."

The man refused to shake Sam's hand and scrutinized each one of them carefully. It was obvious that he didn't believe a word Sam had said.

"Gentlemen, and Lady; this is a private auction and I don't remember seeing your names on the guest list." Mr. Blake countered rudely.

"It's there Chuckles, just take a look." Dean responded before taking a glass of Champagne and heading off with Sam and Mia behind him.

"You are so embarrassing, you're gonna get us kicked out." Mia whispered harshly at Dean who chugged his Champagne like beer.

He scoffed at her accusation, "Me? What about you, you're the accident prone one, one trip and we're ten thousands G's in debt."

Sam rubbed his temples; "That's why I said Mia's our sister, because you two fight like a brother and sister!"

They all shut up and wandered around the auction for anything that looked 'spooky,' as Dean put it.

"Hey look, it's a portrait of the Addams Family." Mia snickered when they came across a creepy looking family portrait.

"A fine example of American Primitive, wouldn't you say?" A young woman's voice called to them.

The three hunters turned around to see a young woman with brown hair and a black dress descending a spiral staircase towards them.

Sam frowned, "Well I'd say, it's more Grant Wood than Grandma Moses, but you already knew that and you wanted to see if I did."

Mia and Dean, who had no idea what was going on, exchanged confused looks. Dean shoved another mini quiche into his mouth to Mia's annoyance.

"Guilty," The young woman replied, smiling at Sam, "and clumsy, I'm sorry. My name is Sarah Blake, and you are?"

"I'm Sam, this is Mia and that's…" He paused as Dean grabbed yet another appetizer.

"-my brother, Dean." He finally finished.

Sarah smiled at them politely, but returned her attention to Sam.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, is there anything you can tell us about the provenances of the pieces from the Telesca estate?" Sam asked.

Sarah kindly opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Mr. Blake, her father, who had re-checked the guest list and now wanted them to leave.

"Well we don't need to be told twice." Dean sassed back as he munched on his mini quiches.

"Apparently, you do." Mr. Blake retorted vulgarly.

Sam stepped in, "It's alright. We don't wanna cause any trouble. We'll leave."

Dean angrily stormed out of the auction house followed by Mia who stole a glance at Sam and Sarah. The two of them were giving each other romantic looks and Mia beamed.

"Dad, that was rude." Sarah chided her father just before Sam and Mia walked out of earshot.

* * *

"Grant Wood? Grandma Moses? What the hell was that?" Dean chuckled.

They'd finally gotten a motel room and walked inside with their bags.

"Art history course," Sam shot back.

"It's like I don't even know you." Dean sighed as they finally turned on the lights.

Mia's eyes widened at the design of the room. Someone thought it was a good idea to design the motel as seventies party room, complete with a disco ball, black and white furniture and a 70's stereo.

"Did we just go back in time?" Mia frowned.

Dean and Sam, however, seemed to brush it off. It probably wasn't the weirdest room they'd ever booked.

"What about that thing you were saying-the providence?" Dean asked as he unpacked his bags.

"Provenance. It's like a documented history of the art piece. I figure if we look through them, it can give us a look into the objects' 'creepy' pasts." Sam responded as he unpacked his own bag.

"Well, I don't think Mr. Blake will help with that, but maybe Sarah will." Dean jeered.

Sam brushed him off but Mia chimed in from her cot. "No, he's right, Sam. Sarah was totally into you, I could tell!"

"No way, Dean's the good one at pick-ups." Sam told her.

"True but I'm not the one she kept checking out." Dean smirked.

Mia rolled her eyes at Dean's overconfidence, "She wasn't even looking at you because she was afraid that at any second you were going to explode from all the mini quiche."

Sam smiled at Mia while Dean stuck his tongue out at her, childishly.

"Let me get this straight, you guys want me to use her, to get the provenances?"

Dean handed him his cell phone, "Sometimes you gotta take one for the team. Now, call her."

* * *

Sam did call and although he stammered a lot through the conversation, he managed to arrange a date that evening with Sarah at a nice restaurant.

"Do me a favor? Don't kill each other while I'm gone." He begged them as he got ready to leave.

Dean and Mia who were on their laptops glanced up at him.

"I make no promises." Dean stated honestly.

Mia nodded solemnly in agreement with Dean before returning to her own devices.

Sam contemplated whether leaving them alone in the motel room was a good idea, then shrugged and chose to leave. He would not hold himself accountable if they ended up burning the motel to the ground during one of their heated arguments.

* * *

When Sam returned late that night, he found Mia watching videos on her laptop. Dean left shortly after Sam had, to hit the nearest bar.

"How'd it go?" Mia asked excitedly as Sam sank into his bed.

He smiled, "It went great, she's fantastic."

Mia cocked an eyebrow, "I need details, Sam."

"Umm, well she didn't make me pay for wine- we got beer instead, she told me that I wasn't the only one who hadn't been on a date in a while, and she told me she wanted to be an artist." Sam summarized with a small smile playing on his lips.

Mia grinned, "You really like her, huh?"

"She's very down to earth for a rich girl." Sam replied, refusing to deny or affirm Mia's statement.

The girl cheered, "I'm really happy for you, buddy! You deserve a nice girl like her!"

Just then, the door burst open to reveal Dean who looked mildly irritated.

"Man, these bars suck," he grumbled as he shut the door, "Oh hey Sammy! How'd it go?"

"Good-I got the provenances." Sam explained as he began pulling papers out of his pockets.

"She just gave them to you? I like this girl." Mia chimed.

Dean raised his eyebrows; "You didn't have to con her or anything? Pull a few tricks?"

Sam looked offended and Mia rolled her eyes.

"Would you get your head out of ass, Winchester?"

"Shut it Wilkins, you're still on my hit list from that bar incident." Dean shot back and Mia glared at him.

"Ahem," Sam coughed to get their attention, "I found something with the history of this painting. The names of the people who owned it, match with the names of the victims in Dad's journal."

He handed Dean the paper to verify his statement. "Yep, checks out. I guess the painting is haunted."

"What's next?" Mia asked as she put away her laptop.

"Bust in and burn it down." Dean answered as he grabbed some gear.

* * *

Late that night, the three of them headed to the charity auction house to break in and steal the painting to properly destroy it.

First, they needed to climb the ten-foot tall brick wall that acted as a perimeter around the estate.

Sam leapt up and climbed over the wall, Dean followed his actions exactly, managing to propel himself up and over it.

Mia attempted to copy them but couldn't manage to grab a good hold of the wall to propel herself up, as the Winchesters had been able to.

She repeatedly threw herself up against the wall but couldn't make it.

"Guys!" She called when she finally gave up.

From the other side of the wall she could hear muffled curses and what sounded like a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Eventually, Dean climbed back over to help her.

"Here I'll give you a boost, your Highness." He said to her with dripping sarcasm.

Mia shot him an irritated look. It wasn't her fault she was too short to climb over.

Dean bent down and cupped his hands together in order to push Mia high enough for her to grab ahold of the wall and climb over it. She stepped her converse clad feet onto his hands and rose her arms up in attempt to grasp at something to steady her.

"Dean stop shaking, I'm gonna fall." She exclaimed, as she windmilled her arms out to keep herself steady.

"Maybe if you stopped moving around so much, I wouldn't be shaking!" He shouted back in annoyance.

Suddenly, Mia found a grip and just as she was about to pull herself up, Dean let go of her. The girl fell and landed hard on her back.

"OUCH! GODDAMMIT DEAN!" She cried out in pain as she clutched at her lower back, which would soon be colored with bruises.

"I'm thought you had a grip!" Dean exclaimed in surprise.

"Shhhhh!" Sam called, "Dean, help her over already."

Dean glared at the girl in front of him before holding out his hands again. He practically threw her up by her feet this time once she actually told him she had her grip. Mia caught the top of the wall and was able to climb over to Sam.

"Next time, you're helping her." Dean hissed at his brother once he had made it over the wall again.

* * *

They worked quickly and efficiently. Sam used a handheld device to disarm the alarm system, Dean picked the lock on the door and Mia found the painting on the upper level.

Dean cut out the painting from its frame and they burnt it outside.

"If you ask me, we're doing the art world a favor." He remarked.

"Amen." Mia nodded, while they watched the canvas burn and shrivel up.

* * *

That next morning, Dean was feverishly searching the motel room while Sam and Mia were packing up.

"I can't find my wallet." Dean exclaimed worriedly as he ran from corner to corner to look for it.

"And that's our problem because…." Sam retorted.

"I think I dropped it at the warehouse, we gotta go back. That has my prints, my ID and everything." Dean replied as he put on his jacket.

Mia's jaw dropped, "Please tell me you're joking."

He glared at her, "This is your fault. I probably dropped it trying to help you up that stupid wall."

Mia's fists shook angrily and more than anything she wanted to yell at Dean to stop treating her like that, but she let it go. "Come on, let's check it out." She sighed and grabbed her own jacket.

* * *

Back at the warehouse, the three of them searched everywhere until Sarah arrived, taking them by surprise.

"Hey guys!" Sarah called with a big smile when she recognized them.

"Oh hey," the three of them replied with awkward smiles.

"What're you guys doing here?" She asked in happy confusion.

Sam stammered "Umm, we're leaving town and wanted to say goodbye-"

"Leaving town? Nah, we're gonna stay here a few more days. By the way, here's that twenty bucks I owe you." Dean interrupted as he pulled out his wallet from his back pocket.

Mia felt torn between screaming at Dean for lying about losing his wallet or smiling in pride of the setup he had created for Sam and Sarah to talk.

Sam decided to look annoyed and unsurprised as he took the twenty bucks.

"Well, I guess we'll be going then." Dean said smiling at Sarah as he grabbed Mia's arm and dragged her away.

"Have fun!" Mia called back as Dean practically pulled her out of the door.

"So you lied about your wallet to get Sam and Sarah together." She said to him as they walked to the Impala.

"Yep."

"I may not like you Winchester, but I do respect you." She said with a half-smile.

Dean smiled back at her, "Thanks."

He gave her a hard pat on the back, right where she'd fallen the night before.

"Ow! I take it back!" She cried out in pain.

* * *

Almost moments after they climbed into the car, Sam came racing out of the auction house.

"Dean! Mia! It's still there!" He shouted in shock.

He jumped into the backseat of the Impala. "I just saw that cursed painting again, in its frame. It just, came back!"

"But we burned it!" Mia replied in surprise.

"Thank you Captain Obvious, but now we need a new way to destroy that painting." Dean groaned, "Any ideas?"

"Well, in all the lore of haunted paintings it's usually the subject of the painting that haunts it right? So we gotta find out all we can about that family." Sam answered.

"Off to the library then." Mia called.

* * *

A very helpful and excitable librarian helped them find out everything they could about the 'Isaiah Merchant' family, whose likenesses were immortalized in the painting. Their deaths had, apparently, made front-page news the same day the Titanic sank, to Mia's amusement.

"The story goes; Isaiah was a barber and one day, he just snaps. He takes his razor blade and slits his wife's throat, his kids' throats and finally his own." The librarian explained with great enthusiasm.

"Why'd he do it though?" Sam questioned.

The man continued, "It says that Isaiah was a very stern, controlling man over his family and that his wife was going to take their two sons and adopted daughter, and leave him so he, he gave them a shave."

At his last line the man began laughing and Dean joined him while Sam and Mia frowned.

"What about the bodies?" Mia asked.

"They were all cremated, I think I have a picture of the family somewhere. Hang on…" The man said as he fished through some more books.

Mia, Sam and Dean released a heavy sigh. Cremated bodies were not helpful, they needed something to burn.

Mia began wondering if it was the frame that was haunted, when the librarian pulled out a photograph of the portrait they had tried to burn, but with one key difference.

"Sam," Mia whispered to her friend, "what's wrong with this picture?"

Sam studied it closely and Dean leant over to see it as well.

"Isaiah," Dean finally said, "in this picture he's facing front but in the other painting-"

"He's facing the side." Sam finished for him. He then asked the librarian for a copy of the picture and the three of them left.

* * *

"So the painting has changed." Sam concluded when they returned to their motel room. The three of them huddled over the kitchen table and stared at the photograph.

"I think Daddy Dearest is haunting the painting and giving out Columbian neck-ties to anyone who owns it, just like he did to his own family." Dean theorized.

Sam agreed, "Seems like it, but how are we going to kill him if he's already been cremated."

"Maybe more things in the picture changed like Isaiah, it might give us some sort of clue." Dean suggested as he studied the photo.

Mia tilted her head at him, "You mean like a Da Vinci code sort of thing?"

Dean actually looked flustered at her words, "I uh, I'm still waiting for the movie on that one."

Sam, who had also read the book, nodded at Mia. "Yeah, it'll be like that."

The young girl beamed and stood from the table, "Then we've got this covered."

"We'll head back to the auction house after dinner, it'll give Sammy more time with Sarah." Dean teased.

Mia headed to the bathroom to take a shower but as she was getting ready she could hear snippets of an argument between the brothers.

Something about; being with Sarah and something else about moving on from someone named... Jessica?

Mia didn't know what to make of it but she really did like Sarah and she could tell Sam did too. She hoped they would date or something if it made her friend happy.

* * *

Moments after Mia stepped into the shower she heard loud banging on the door.

"I just got in here." Mia grumbled, thinking it was Dean needing to use the toilet.

"MIA GET OUT NOW, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY." Sam shouted.

Mia sighed and redressed herself as quickly as she could. Half of her hair was wet but at the rate Sam and Dean were freaking out, it didn't matter to her.

Sam tossed her her gear while Dean explained that while on a phone call with Sarah, Sam discovered that some idiot bought the damn painting and they had to get it back before anyone else was killed.

* * *

By the time they got to painting owner's house, Sarah was there waiting for them.

"Sam what's going on?" she demanded as she followed them up to the house.

"I told you, you shouldn't have come." Sam replied sadly as he, Dean and Mia began pounding on the front door.

"It's not budging." Mia exclaimed and Sam tried the windows while Sarah tried to wrap her head around what was happening.

Dean picked the lock and the four of them burst into the house.

"Evelyn?" Sarah called out to her friend.

The four of them found Evelyn sitting in her tea chair.

"Evelyn. It's Sarah Blake," Sarah said softly as she reached out to the old woman.

Unfortunately, Sam didn't grab her in time and as Sarah reached out to touch the old woman, Evelyn's head lolled back to reveal that her throat had been slit.

Just then, Isaiah's form in the painting moved to look right at them.

Sarah and Mia both screamed at the sight. Sam had to drag both of them out of the house.

Dean stared at the painting that seemed to mock them for being unable to save the old woman.

* * *

Sam, Dean and Mia headed back to the motel and continued researching the people in the painting, as they awaited Sarah's return the next morning.

When she came back, she was hysterical and demanded that they tell her who was killing the painting's owners or she'd call the police on them.

Sam shot Dean a look and Dean nodded. He then looked to Mia who twisted her necklace anxiously.

"What. It's not who's killing those people, it's 'what' is killing those people." Sam started.

"Sarah," He continued gently, "you saw that painting move."

"No," she denied, "I was scared, I was seeing things. That's too crazy."

"Welcome to our world," Dean interjected from Sam's laptop.

"I know you think it's crazy, but that painting is haunted. Think about it, Evelyn, the Telesco's… Everywhere that painting goes, people die. We're just trying to stop it." Sam elaborated calmly.

"You're joking," Sarah said with tears in her eyes, but at their silence she realized, "you're not joking."

"It's the truth." Mia added.

"Okay, then you're gonna have to show me because, I'm going with you." Sarah said as she took a deep breath.

"What? No! It's too dangerous. I don't want to see you get hurt." Sam refused but still Sarah pressed on.

"Look, if you're right, then me and my Dad sold a painting that got people killed. Besides, I'm not gonna pretend I'm not scared; believe me, I'm terrified. But I'm not gonna run and hide either." Sarah said confidently as she began to walk out of the motel.

Mia smiled at her bravery. Sarah took the news of the supernatural just as she had. She didn't want to hide in the dark, she wanted to face it head on. Sarah had become, ten times greater than she'd already been in Mia's eyes.

"Dude," Dean piped up once Sarah went outside to wait for them, "marry that girl."

For once, Mia couldn't agree more with Dean.

* * *

They took Sarah to the scene of the crime, to her discomfort. Then Sam, Dean and Mia began playing Spot The Difference with the painting versus the photograph the librarian gave them.

"The blade, it's open in the painting but closed in the photo." Mia deducted.

"Why are you looking for differences?" Sarah asked in confusion.

"If the spirit is changing the painting there must be a reason behind it." Dean explained patiently to her.

"Check it out," Sam called, "the painting within the painting, it's different."

In the painting, the background picture depicted some sort of mausoleum with the name Merchant on the top while the photograph showed a flowery background.

"There's our clue," Mia said with a small smile, "find that crypt."

* * *

After a long search of local cemeteries, they finally found the family crypt.

"Now that is the creepiest thing I've ever seen." Sarah exclaimed when she found a doll entrapped within a glass case along with four urns within the crypt.

"Can't argue with that." Mia mumbled in agreement.

Sam explained to her that at the time it was a tradition to preserve the kid's favorite toy along with the child when they died.

"Notice something off?" Dean asked.

"Where do I start?" Sarah joked, and Sam grinned.

"There's only four urns. Daddy Dearest isn't here," Dean stated.

"Then where is he?" Mia asked in bewilderment.

* * *

The four of them checked the local archives to find out. Or rather, Dean and Mia did while Sam and Sarah chitchatted outside about their feelings for one another.

Dean and Mia snuck in pretending to be FBI agents and went through the death certificates for 'Merchant' circa 1912. It took them forever but finally they came close.

"Mercant, Merchance, Merchant!" The young girl exclaimed in excitement as she flipped through files.

Dean came over from his shelf to read the file Mia had uncovered.

"Isaiah, where are you…" Dean mumbled as he flipped through the names.

"Aha!" Mia cried out in triumph when she found the death certificate.

Dean's eyes scanned it quickly. "Buried, out in the cemetery-this is great! We've got something to burn."

Mia grinned but noticed there was a note attached, "Hey wait, it says… he was supposed to be cremated with his wife and kids but his relatives refused to honor his wishes out of shame so they gave him to the county and he was given the pauper's funeral; pine box burial."

"Well, they could've saved us a lot of trouble if they'd just cremated him, huh?" Dean beamed as they began to head out of the archives.

Mia nodded and grinned, "You know... We make a great team when we're not at each other's throats."

The older Winchester nodded dismissively and his demeanor changed from happy back to somber.

"You don't think we make a good team when we work together?" Mia asked, wondering what Dean was thinking.

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah sure, whatever. Let's just focus on this case okay, I don't have time for any of your chick flick moments."

Mia sighed dejectedly. No matter what she did or said, she always managed to make Dean angry or upset with her. Usually, she didn't care but sometimes she wished he didn't hate her so much.

"Would you hurry up? Jeez, by the time you get out of here, there'll be more people dead." Dean called back in irritation.

Mia hurried and held her tongue from cursing back at him.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?" Mia finally asked just as they left the archives.

Dean groaned in annoyance, "Are you serious. I just said no chick flick moments, we don't have time for this. If you wanted to be all touchy feely why didn't you just stay home, or is that why you left in the first place? Your family got sick of you?"

That struck a chord with Mia, especially the last part. Although she tried not to think about it, being kicked out by her foster parent was still a fresh stinging pain, and Dean had just reopened the wound by saying what he did.

The brunette began to shake as she tried to keep her building emotions at bay but they grew and grew until suddenly she couldn't take it anymore.

"AHHHHH!" She screamed furiously as she leapt from the outside steps of the archive onto Dean's back. She tightened her arms around his neck in a chokehold, and pure, stinging anger was her only guide.

Dean, who was completely surprised by her attack, leapt into action and wrenched her locked arms apart, practically throwing her off of his back before turning to face her.

Filled with a blind rage, Mia ran at him to punch him square in the face but Dean quickly dodged it and shoved her, hard, away from him.

"Give up, Mia. I could break you like a toothpick if I wanted to." He told her with a cocky smile.

However, Dean's words only spurred her on as she charged at him again; throwing all of her weight against him and pushing him back. Then, she took advantage of his imbalance and kneed him in the gut.

Dean let out a bellow of pain as he doubled over onto his knees, but Mia, who was quick, kicked his shoulder with her heel, causing him to fall over.

"Nice try, but I let you have that one." He retorted sassily as he got to his feet.

Mia let out a growl of anger before going to deliver a smack across his face but Dean had learned from before, and instead, caught her hand in midair. He then punched her cheek and Mia clutched it in pain as his ring had cut her skin. But still, she continued to retaliate and threw punches at him until at least one of them had made hard contact with his cheek.

The young girl extended her right leg to kick him in the groin but Dean was fast, and he caught her foot before she could do any damage. He pushed it forwards, causing her to lose her balance and fall.

"Had enough?" Dean mocked, out of breath, as Mia got to her feet again.

She glared at him, though blood was dripping down her cheek, "You wish,"

The brunette launched herself at him but Dean simply caught her wrists and managed to twist her into a headlock.

"Say 'Uncle'." He instructed as she struggled violently against his iron grip.

Mia cursed at him but he continued to tighten the headlock. "Say Uncle." He insisted.

Finally, Mia gave in. "Uncle," she sighed.

Dean released her and smiled at the bloodied and beaten girl in front of him. It was true he didn't like her, but he couldn't deny that she definitely was persistent.

He left her to recover and went over to tell Sam and Sarah, who were still flirting, about Isaiah Merchant's grave.

"Dean, what the hell happened to you?" Sam remarked as soon as his brother appeared.

Sarah's eyes widened, "You look like you got hit by a train."

Dean realized his nose was bleeding and his clothes were disheveled. He struggled to adjust himself properly.

"Nothing. Uh, anyways... We found out Isaiah was buried, not cremated and I know where." Dean explained.

Mia with a bloody gash on her cheek and bruises beginning to pepper her skin, followed them to the car and sat beside Sarah in the backseat without a word to explain her damaged state.

The trip to cemetery was silent.

* * *

Sarah offered to help them dig the grave but Mia insisted that she hold the flashlight instead, to help them see. Mia knew that the poor girl was scared enough as it was, and there was no need to make her see the completely decomposed corpse.

"As you can see, this is the most glamorous part of the job." Mia joked as she continued to dig.

Sarah forced a laugh, "You guys are, uncomfortably, comfortable with this."

Sam shrugged, "This isn't our first grave. So, you still think I'm a catch?"

Sarah smiled at him and he grinned back.

"I found it." Dean called up from the grave as he smashed the coffin open.

Mia dumped the salt onto the body and Sam poured lighter fluid over it.

Dean pulled out a match and set fire to the body. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief that everything was finally over.

* * *

They returned to Evelyn's house, wanting to destroy the painting-just to be safe. Sam and Sarah went into the house together while Dean and Mia waited in the Impala.

"How's the head?" Dean asked casually, but Mia only glared at him and said nothing as she was still extremely pissed with him.

"Alright," Dean huffed, "you're gonna play that game."

Mia still didn't speak as she tried to zone him out, knowing that acknowledging his presence would only make her angrier. She silently resented herself for choosing to ride shotgun to allow Sam and Sarah to sit together, as now she was stuck beside this idiot.

"I guess you don't mind if I blast some classic rock, then." Dean said as he blared Thunderstruck.

He knew she didn't want to listen to this song, and he was playing it just to screw with her. Mia took a deep breath and closed her eyes; she didn't want to fight him again.

"YOU'VE BEEN, THUNDERSTRUCK!" Dean sang as high-pitched as he could to annoy Mia but she remained strong.

Don't do it, don't do it. Mia told herself as her mind continually told her to reach over and punch Dean in the face, but she knew that it would fix nothing and they'd just start fighting again, leaving her in worse physical condition than she'd been when they started.

Eventually his singing got so vexing that Mia decided to give in and yell at him to shut up.

"I swear to God, Dean-" Mia began but stopped when she noticed the front door, which Sam and Sarah had left wide open, slammed shut of its own accord.

Dean noticed it too and he raced out of the car to investigate with Mia right behind him.

"Sam!" Mia shouted through the door, but it was soundproof.

Dean's phone rang and he put it on speaker for them, "Sammy, please tell me it was you who slammed the door."

"No, I think it was the little girl." Sam replied worriedly.

"Little girl? What little girl?" Mia asked. Evelyn didn't have any children…

"The girl from the painting, she's missing now and I think it was her all along." Sam replied.

Dean handed Mia the phone as he tried to pick the lock.

"Wasn't the dad looking at her? Maybe he was trying to warn us." Dean theorized.

Sam impatiently shouted, "We can talk about this later, now just get us out of here!"

"I'm trying but the door won't budge." Dean cried out.

"Break it down!" Said Sam.

"Okay genius, let me just get my battering ram." Dean replied sarcastically.

"Stop! We don't have any time for this!" Mia shouted, "Spirits need an anchor right? What does that little girl have that's keeping her here?"

"I don't know." Sam answered in a panic, "She was cremated!"

"Calm down, just get some salt and some iron, we'll figure this out." Dean instructed his younger brother.

Sam and Sarah began searching for pure iron and salt to ward off the ghosts.

"What kind of house doesn't have salt; low sodium freaks." Sam cursed as he tried to find something to help protect himself and Sarah.

Suddenly, there was a scream on the phone and Mia freaked out. "Sam? What's happening?"

There was a long silence until Sam returned, "We're okay, for now. I found an iron rod to hit the ghost with but she'll be back."

"Sam," Sarah's voice came from the background, "at my auction house, we used to handle antique dolls."

"Fascinating but is it really relevant?" Sam retorted to Sarah but she brushed it off.

"Back then, the dolls would be made in the kid's image exactly. The owners would use the child's actual hair to make the doll and everything." Sarah explained.

"That's what's keeping her, here." Mia remarked, "Dean! We've gotta burn that doll at the Mausoleum!"

The two of them ran to the car and Dean gunned the engine. He rode way over the speed limit, and Mia held to her seat for dear life.

He broke through the gates of the graveyard and parked the car right in front of the crypt before barging inside.

Mia ran to the trunk and grabbed an axe from one of the boy's gear bags before running inside. By the time she got there, Dean was trying to break the glass with the butt of his pistol.

"Move!" She commanded before swinging the axe and breaking the glass in one swift move.

Dean extracted the doll and they ran outside to light it up but the wind prevented the lighter from igniting the doll.

Finally, he caught the hair of the doll on fire and the rest went up into flames.

"Phew," Mia sighed as the doll burnt to ashes.

Dean dialed Sam and was relieved to hear that both he and Sarah were alive and unharmed.

"Why," Mia managed to get out between heavy breaths, "were you trying to break the glass with the butt of your gun?"

Dean stared at her, "I was under pressure, what do you expect?"

"Yeah but you're Mister Shoots-first-asks-questions-later. Why didn't you just shoot the glass?" She asked him curiously.

"Because… I don't know!" Dean laughed hysterically in spite of the situation and Mia started laughing too.

They both climbed into the Impala and headed back to Sam and Sarah.

* * *

The morning after, they returned the painting to the auction house and Dean did a little research to find that the little girl, Millie, was adopted after she'd killed her entire family, making it look like an accident. She then killed the Merchants and the incident was blamed on Isaiah.

"Where do you want us to move this painting?" One of Sarah's auction house movers asked.

"Take it out back and burn it." She commanded.

The two men stared at her as if she was insane.

"I mean it, guys."

They obliged to her strange request and left the four of them to their privacy.

Sam and Sarah theorized why Millie would kill her families while Dean dismissed the entire psychological study, glad it was finally over.

"So I guess this means you're leaving," Sarah said sadly as she looked at Sam.

"We're gonna wait in the car." Mia announced, "goodbye Sarah, it was great meeting you."

"You too, but I wish the circumstances had been a bit different." Sarah replied with a kind smile.

Mia dragged Dean out with her as he said goodbye.

"I'm the one who burnt the doll and destroyed the spirit, but don't thank me or anything." Dean muttered to himself.

Mia began to laugh loudly at his comment.

"You!? You kept trying to break the glass with the butt of your gun! If anyone deserves to be thanked it's me for remembering we have a freaking axe in the trunk. Otherwise, Sam and Sarah would be dead, and you'd still be tapping at the glass." She replied with a playful smile.

"Hey! I'm the one who lit the doll on fire!" Dean retorted angrily.

Mia snorted, "Yeah, after ten tries… But you know what, you're right, you deserve an entire party Dean. I'll book it into our schedule for next week."

Dean laughed mockingly then pushed her into a bush as they were coming out of the parking lot.

"YOU COMPLETE DICK!" She cried as she climbed out of the bush and pulled twigs from her hair and clothes.

She was about to attack Dean when Sam and Sarah stepped out of the building.

She quickly walked to the car and prepared to climb inside but first, paused to watch Sam say goodbye to Sarah.

They awkwardly mumbled goodbye and Mia rolled her eyes at their total lack of passion. Instead of two people who had feelings for one another, they looked like awkward teenagers embracing in front of their parents.

Mia and Sam made eye contact and she gestured back towards the house, hoping Sam got that she was trying to tell him to go kiss her!

Luckily, he did get the message and ran back to Sarah to give a big smooch before heading back over to the Impala.

"That's my boy." Dean said to himself proudly just before his brother came back.

"Atta boy Sam!" Mia commended her friend once he showed up.

"Sammy, I'm so happy you did that, I'm gonna let you drive." Dean told his brother as he tossed him the keys.

Sam grinned even wider, "Thanks! Mia, you take shotgun."

"Wait, what?" Dean asked in horror, "Shotgun's mine."

Sam gave him a puppy dog look. "Let her sit in front; you can sleep in the back. What was that thing you used to always say? Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole?"

Dean groaned in exasperation. "That's not even applicable in this case!"

"Oh please, don't think I didn't see how badly you beat up Mia. The way I see it, she deserves this." Sam retorted.

Dean opened his mouth to reply that Mia had beat him up to but shut his mouth and clambered into the backseat while Mia climbed into the front.

"Having fun back there?" Mia asked Dean with a joking smile.

"I've just realized, I really hate you." Dean hissed maliciously at the young girl.

Mia shrugged indifferently, "I've just realized, I really don't care."

* * *

** I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Pretty please, leave a review? Reviews feed my muse- and she's very hungry. I know the background information on Mia is very limited right now, but I want you all to get to know her a bit more as a character and see more of how she interacts with all of the Winchesters before I reveal more about her past. I promise I will soon, though!**

**_Next up... Dean, Sam and Mia meet up with John Winchester to hunt down some vampires._**


	6. Dead Man's Blood

**A/N: **** I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY! THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Dead Man's Blood**

"Someone's hungry," Dean Winchester stated sarcastically as he watched Mia gobble down mouthful after mouthful of French fries.

The young girl shot him a dirty look before she shoveled another handful of fries into her mouth.

"Give her a break, Dean. She hasn't eaten anything all day," Sam Winchester replied.

The three young hunters were treating themselves to an early dinner as they'd been driving all day. Mia had ordered an extra platter of fries at the Diner as Sam and Dean rifled through old newspapers and checked online to find anything that could lead them to their next case.

"You're disgusting…" Dean scolded as he grimaced at Mia's table manner.

"Maybe I wouldn't be this gross if you'd actually let me eat breakfast this morning before we headed out on the road!" The brunette managed with her mouth full of fries.

Sam sighed in irritation. "Have you found anything yet, Dean?"

His older brother closed the newspaper and shook his head. "Nothing… you?"

"A woman in Iowa fell from a plane and survived," He read off the screen of his laptop.

"That's more like a miracle than an actual case," Dean responded.

Mia mumbled in agreement before she took a large sip of her diet cola.

"Oh wait, there's something else. In Colorado, an elderly man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found dead in his home-"

"Elkins?" Dean interrupted while he began to flip through his father's journal, "that name sounds familiar."

"-the police believe he was mauled by a bear but there were also signs of thievery." Sam finished.

Mia smiled, "Sounds like Yogi Bear got tired of only eating food from picnic baskets."

Dean looked at her as though nothing would give him more pleasure than to push her off the edge of a cliff.

"Here," Dean said as he handed the journal over to his brother.

Sam looked at the entry with the name Daniel Elkins along with a phone number. "Do you think that's him?"

"It's a Colorado area code," Dean replied.

Sam frowned, perplexed by the strange circumstances.

Dean noticed his brother's hesitation and smirked. "Or, we could just keep heading east and visit Sarah."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Maybe another time. We've got work to do; I think you're right and this could be a case."

His older brother grinned. "Perfect. I'll go get the car ready, and you can pay for our dinner."

He stood and left the Diner before Sam could offer a protest.

"You know," Sam muttered to himself, "sometimes I regret ever coming back…"

Mia, who had finished her food, leant towards him out of interest. "What do you mean, 'coming back'?"

Sam shut his laptop and took a deep breath, "it's a long story."

"Try me."

Then he told her everything. That when he was six months old, a demon broke into his family home and set it on fire with his mother inside. That ever since, his father had raised him and Dean like soldiers. Training them all their lives to handle the supernatural; to save people, hunt things, and carry on the family business.

"Dean and I, we never had a normal childhood. We lived out of motels, and travelled most of our lives. Finally, I'd had enough of it. I wanted desperately to be normal, so I applied to Stanford University, got accepted, and I left. When I told my dad I was going to College, he flipped. He told me if I walked out that door, I'd never see him again. Dean drove me to the bus station and we lost contact for a few years until a few months ago…" At the end of his explanation, Sam glanced out of the window sadly.

"What happened a few months ago?" Mia prodded.

Sam frowned uncertainly, and she began to backpedal. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

Sam shook his head. "It's alright. I had a girlfriend in College. Her name was Jessica. One day, Dean showed up out of the blue and told me that Dad had gone missing during a hunting trip. He dragged me into helping him look for our dad. I helped for a little while, then I decided to head home since I had an interview with a law firm the next day. When I got home, I found Jessica dead. She was lying on the ceiling with her stomach cut-the same way my mom died. The demon that killed my mother, killed my girlfriend and I won't rest until me and my Dad personally drag it to hell," Malice reigned in Sam's tone as he spoke and it caused Mia to flinch in discomfort.

"I'm so sorry," She said to him sympathetically, "I had no idea what you guys have been through. How tough it must have been to grow up in this environment, especially without your mom."

Sam shrugged it off, "you get used to it. Besides, once I kill the demon that murdered Jess, I'm gonna go back to living like a normal person again."

At this bit of news, Mia's face fell. She hadn't known that this was Sam's plan, and she felt disappointed that he was going to go back to a normal, boring life when he lived a life of such adventure. Then again, growing up knowing the monsters under the bed are real, isn't exactly the type of life Mia would've wanted as a kid either.

"So, Jessica... I remember you mentioning her to Dean. Did she know about your-"

"My hunting background?" Sam interrupted, "No. I wanted to leave that part of my life behind and start fresh. I had a wonderful life with her, the whole couple of years we spent together."

Mia nodded solemnly as she stared outside the window. It had begun to rain.

* * *

By the time the three of them arrived to Daniel Elkins' house, it was extremely late. Nevertheless, they broke into his house to look for any sort of clues as to how the old man died, as well as any indication of his association with the Winchesters' father.

"There's some salt by the door," Sam observed as he walked into the house.

Dean turned to him, "are we talking, 'oops, I spilled the popcorn, salt', or protection from demons salt?"

"That's either a lot of popcorn, or he was trying to protect himself from something-it's a circle of salt," Mia replied, as she had learnt from Sam that salt warded against evil spirits such as demons, ghosts, and apparitions.

Dean ignored her comment as he closely examined the state of the kitchen. It looked as though it had been ransacked; there was upturned furniture everywhere and blood spatters on the floorboards.

"What do you think did this?" Dean asked as he bent down to get a closer look at the bloody markings.

"Maybe it was a vampire? It would explain the bloody mess," Mia suggested as she walked into the kitchen behind Sam.

Dean laughed loudly and sarcastically, "Yeah, good one. Did unicorns get in on the action too?"

The young girl frowned in confusion and turned to Sam who had a small smile of amusement on his lips.

"Vampires aren't real, Mia. Us, and no one we know, has ever come into contact with them," Sam explained to her patiently.

"That's ridiculous. Vampires are on the top of the monster list and they don't even exist? Geez! What about a werewolves?" Mia replied in exasperation.

Suddenly, a hazy memory came to Sam. He was a little boy, about ten or eleven years old, he heard the voice of an older man talking to his brother. "-she's helping me hunt down the werewolf, Dean."

"Sammy? You okay?" Dean asked in concern as his brother slowly returned to reality.

Sam shook off the weird recollection, "yeah, I'm fine. I just had this really weird feeling of déjà vu."

"As I was saying to little miss Princess who thinks she knows everything," continued Dean in a condescending manner, "it's not a full moon, so it couldn't be a werewolf."

Mia crossed her arms indignantly, "Well so-rry."

Dean ignored her and looked at an open journal lying on the kitchen counter.

"That looks like Dad's," Sam commented as he watched his brother flip through the detailed pages of monster lore.

Dean nodded, "Yeah but this thing dates back to the 60's… Well, one thing is for sure; Elkins was definitely a hunter."

Mia, who had walked over to see the journal herself, tripped over a box but caught herself on the edge of a desk.

"Klutz!" Dean hissed angrily at the loud noises she had produced from tripping.

"What the heck was that?" Mia asked as she picked up the object she'd tripped over.

Sam studied it closely, "It looks like some sort of antique gun case."

"But no guns or bullets…" Mia remarked quizzically.

Suddenly Dean reached over to the desk and grabbed a piece of paper and pencil. He then placed the paper over a particular scratch within a blood pattern and colored over it with the pencil. It produced an impression on the paper.

"Look familiar to you?" The older Winchester asked his brother as he held up the finished paper.

Sam's eyes widened in recognition, "Three letters, six digits; it's the location and combination of a post office box. A mail drop…"

Mia's eyes widened in surprise as well. She was in complete amazement as to how Dean and Sam could see the numbers in the splatters of dried blood. She glanced up to Sam to ask him where the lockers were but out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement through the window. It looked as though a shadow was moving in the trees.

"Guys," she choked in terror, "I think there's someone, outside."

Sam's face fell in fear while Dean brushed off her concern. "Calm yourself Wilkins, it was probably just a bear. In case you haven't noticed, this cabin is in the middle of the woods. Anyways, I think we should check out this location; it's just the kind of thing Dad would set up for us."

"What if the thing that killed Elkins is out there?" Sam interjected.

Dean rolled his eyes in reluctance, "Fine, I'll check the perimeter."

He left the house and circled it with his gun, in case he ran into anything. After ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly, he returned to the cabin.

"I told you, there's nothing outside. She probably just saw an animal going for a midnight snack," Dean told his brother.

Mia flushed pink in embarrassment as she followed the brothers out of the cabin and back into the car. She scolded herself for being so jumpy, but when she recalled what she'd seen, it didn't look anything like an animal. In fact, it looked like…a man.

* * *

The three of them arrived at the post office and used the combination given to open the locker. Inside was a single letter, addressed to the initials J.W. They headed back to the car to discuss their theories without being publicly overheard.

"J.W? Who could that be?" Mia pondered as she studied the address on the envelope. For some reason, the initials weren't clicking in her head.

Dean snatched the letter from her, "John Wayne. Who do you think, you idiot?"

Mia looked furious at him for making fun of her. She leant towards him to yell in his face but Sam gave her a stern look and she retreated instead.

"The big question is; if it is for Dad, should we open it?" Sam said to them as he looked at the envelope.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the rear

door window and the three young hunters jumped in surprise.

Sam and Dean, who recognized the stranger banging on the window as their father, instantly relaxed. However, Mia, who had no clue that the man currently standing outside her window was John Winchester, began screaming loudly.

She continued to scream, even as John opened the door and slid into the backseat next to her.

"Mia! Relax! That's our Dad!" Sam called to the hysterical girl.

Mia stopped screaming and began to study the man beside her. Besides looking extremely freaked out, Mia could see the features that his sons had inherited from him. Sam and his father shared the same color hair and face shape. Dean had his father's eyes and his cheeks. Between the two of them, she could safely say that Dean looked the most like his father.

John frowned at her, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

Mia blushed when she realized she'd been staring at him longer than what was deemed socially acceptable.

"Oh! I'm Mia Wilkins, it's a pleasure to meet you. You have such beautiful handwriting from what I've read in your journal."

She smiled unsurely but knew that she'd screwed up once she heard Sam smack his hand against his face out of second-hand embarrassment.

"You let her read my journals!" John bellowed loudly as he turned to glare at his sons.

"Dad she's-" Sam began to explain but was cut off.

"What have I told you boys about bringing girls on hunts!?" John thundered as he glared at Dean.

"Don't look at me! I've never brought a girlfriend on a hunt, and even if I did, it sure as hell wouldn't be Mia. I never even wanted her here in the first place," Dean replied as he shot Mia a dirty look. The brunette sank lower in her seat.

"With all due respect Sir," Sam began softly, "we met Mia right after we separated with you. She really helped us with one of our cases and wanted to pursue hunting. I offered to let her travel with us so we could train her to become a hunter on her own. She's been a great help on our past few cases."

John's harsh demeanor softened at his youngest son's words. "Is that true, Dean?"

Dean looked down and forced himself not to answer. As much as he hated Mia, he couldn't deny the fact that she had been a great help at times.

John nodded, taking his son's silence as a yes.

"I may not like it, but I'll deal with it later." He said coolly to Mia who began nervously twisting her necklace.

Dean smirked at the knowledge that his father didn't like Mia travelling with them as much as he did.

"I'm here because I heard the news about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could and I saw you guys at his place," John explained.

Mia shot Dean a smug look as they realized that she had been right in saying that she'd seen someone in the woods at Daniel Elkins' house.

Sam frowned, "Why didn't you come in?"

"You know why," John sighed, "I had to make sure you weren't followed by anyone or anything."

"So you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" Sam asked.

"Daniel was a good friend. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting…" John drifted off in his memories for a moment before returning to reality.

"I should look at that," He said as he extended his arm to receive his letter.

Sam handed it to him, and the Winchester father made quick work of opening the letter and reading it aloud:

"If you're reading this, I'm already dead… that son of a bitch."

Mia frowned at the man's sudden change in tone.

"What, Dad?" Dean questioned.

"He had it the whole time!" John groaned as he put down the letter.

"Had what?" Sam and Mia asked in unison.

The older man looked at them, "When you were in Elkins' house, did you see anything that looked like an antique gun- a Colt revolver?"

Mia shook her head, "There was an antique looking case but it was completely empty."

"They have it," John stated as he began to climb out of the car.

"Wait! You mean whatever killed Elkins has the gun?" Dean inferred in confusion.

"Yes, and we need to pick up the trail fast. If Daniel is telling the truth it means that they have the gun and we need to get it," John explained, managing to reveal little information about the gun or its importance.

"But wait, we don't even know what we're even hunting, or why this gun is so important!" Sam exclaimed to his father in bewilderment.

Mia felt just as confused as the Winchester brothers, as she attempted to understand what their father was going on about.

"He was killed by what he hunted best; vampires," said John.

Sam and Dean exchanged confused looks while Mia spoke up, "Wait, I thought vampires weren't real."

John shook his head, "They're real alright. Although for the longest time I was convinced they'd been hunted to extinction but I was wrong."

"How do you kill a vampire then? Stake through the heart, like the movies?" Dean asked.

"Vampires aren't like the ones in movies. Sunlight won't burn them, crosses won't repel them and a stake to the heart won't kill them. But the bloodlust part is true-they need human blood to survive. They were once people, so you won't realize that they're a vampire until it's too late. I'll explain more later…" John told them before heading off to his own car.

"Vampires?" Dean asked in shock as he turned to his brother.

Sam shook his head, "What does Dad want with that gun anyways?"

Mia, however, bit back a smile. "I told you it was a vampire."

Dean turned around, "Yeah, yeah... What do you want, an award?"

Mia laughed sarcastically, "I was right about seeing your Dad too. So that's two points Mia, zero points Dean."

"Yeah whatever, it doesn't matter anyway," Dean retorted in irritation as he started the car to follow his dad.

" 'Doesn't matter anyway'-yeah right. It will matter when you win one of our arguments and you won't let me forget it." Mia muttered to herself as she curled up in the backseat with her journal.

* * *

The three of them followed John to a motel where they decided to rest for the night. Or at least, Sam, Dean, and Mia rested while John spent a majority of the night listening to the police scanner he had for any supernatural activity.

"Up! Everyone up, we've got a lead!" John called to Mia and his kids.

Sam and Dean slowly got up and stretched while Mia continued to snore in her cot.

"What's happening?" Dean asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"A couple just called 911 from the highway, reporting a dead body. When the police showed up, everyone was missing. It's the vampires."

Sam yawned, "How do you know?"

"Just follow me," His father groaned as he left the motel room.

"Mia, wake up- we've got a lead," Sam said to his friend as he gently shook her.

Mia moaned and rolled over but didn't wake up. Sam sighed in exasperation.

"I got this," Dean groaned as he walked over to the sleeping girl. He began to shake her violently, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Suddenly, Mia reached out and smacked Dean's face in a sleepy daze. The boy retreated in shock and Mia sat up.

"Sorry Sam! Instinct from when I-" She paused when she realized that she'd hit Dean instead of Sam.

"Oh.. nevermind then," Mia shrugged as she got up to grab her bags.

Dean put a hand against the part of his face that Mia struck. "God, I hope she gets eaten by a vampire," He cursed under his breath.

Sam, who overheard his brother's muttering, brushed it off. He was growing used to the constant exchange of bitterness between his friend and his brother.

* * *

They arrived at the crime scene and John spoke to the police.

"I don't see why we couldn't go with him," Sam muttered angrily.

Dean groaned, "Please don't tell me it's starting again."

"What's starting?" Sam questioned, but before Dean could answer, John returned.

"They're heading West, we're gonna have to double back to get past the detour."

Sam glared at his father, "How can you be so sure?"

"Sam!" Dean butt in but his brother ignored him.

"I just wanna know that we're heading the right way," In response, John pulled out a small white item from his pocket and gave it to Sam.

"Is that a vampire fang?" Mia exclaimed in surprise.

"It's a vampire tooth, the second set of teeth descends when they attack. That's how I know we're heading the right way. Any more questions?" John asked impatiently.

Sam looked down in defeat.

"Now, let's go. We're losing daylight." John snapped before heading off to his truck, "and Dean, why don't you touch up your car. I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if you weren't gonna take care of it."

Dean looked so hurt and offended Mia didn't dare venture a laugh at his expense. However, Sam half-smiled before climbing into the Impala.

* * *

The three of them were off, following closely behind John. Dean offered to let Sam drive while he rested. Mia lay in the backseat, half-asleep as she read off a sheet of information about vampires, that John had given them, aloud.

"Vampires nest in groups of eight to ten, smaller packs are sent out to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive, bleeding them for days or weeks."

"Do you think that's what happened to the couple on the highway?" Dean mused but his brother was still annoyed with their father.

"That's probably what Dad's thinking, of course it would be nice if he just told us what he thinks," Sam mumbled angrily.

Dean sighed, "So, it has started."

Mia began to zone in and out of the conversation as she fought off sleep deprivation. Dean seemed to be irritated that Sam and their father were already fighting, and he wanted them to work the case together like a family again.

Sam argued that he didn't think it was fair that their father treated them like children; leaving out important information, refusing to trust them, and barking orders at them. Dean defended John by stating that his method worked.

"You're seriously okay with letting him call all the shots, even after everything we've been through?" Sam scoffed.

Dean nodded solemnly, "If that's what it takes."

Mia pondered to herself how such a headstrong person like Dean was able to take orders from his father without question. She understood Sam's opposition to trusting John, after all, he had been kicked out of the house for simply wanting to change his lifestyle, and she could sympathize with that. She barely knew anything about John but she did know that he frightened her a little. Mia fell asleep shortly after and snoozed until the car stopped a few hours later.

* * *

Mia awoke to the sound of the engine revving loudly and the tires burning. She feared they were going to crash but it turned out that Sam had just pulled over and cut off his father in the process.

"What the hell," Mia mumbled to herself as she climbed out of the car.

"Here we go again," Dean groaned as he followed Sam out of the car.

Sam ran towards his father and the two of them began heatedly arguing.

"Where are we even going Dad!? And what the hell is the deal with the gun!?" Sam snapped at his father angrily.

"Sam, we don't have time for this. Look, we're all tired and we can talk later," Dean said, coming between the two of them.

Mia watched helplessly from the sidelines. She personally agreed with Sam and believed that John needed to tell them what was going on. But she didn't want to involve herself in their family affairs.

"Get in the car," John demanded his youngest son.

Sam glared at him, "No."

"I said, get in the damn car!" John repeated furiously.

"And I said no."

Dean grabbed his brother, "Sam, we need to go. We can talk about this another time."

Sam allowed his brother to pull him away but as he saw Mia he said to her, "This is why I left in the first place."

"What did you just say?" John demanded after overhearing Sam's comment.

"You heard me," Sam snapped.

"Yeah, that's right Sam. You left. Your brother and me, we needed you and you just left!" John yelled.

"Stop it!" Dean cried as he tried to pull Sam back.

"You're the one who slammed the door, Dad! YOU TOLD ME NEVER TO COME BACK, BECAUSE YOU WERE JUST PISSED OFF THAT YOU COULDN'T CONTROL ME ANYMORE!" Sam shouted, his voice gaining volume and power.

Mia's eyes widened in fear at how terrifying her friend could be.

"Alright, stop. That's enough! Both of you, back off." Dean shouted as he forced the two of them apart. Sam glared at his father as he climbed back into the Impala and John glared right back at him as he climbed into his own truck.

Mia glanced at Dean who threw up his hands in exasperation. "Terrific!" He cried angrily before he got back into his car, with Mia behind him. She began to realize how normal her family situation was in comparison to the Winchesters.

* * *

By the time they finally reached the nest, which was an abandoned farmhouse, it was morning.

John, Dean, Sam, and Mia hid in tall grass nearby in order to stalk their prey. They watched two vampires come out into the sun and act as though it didn't bother them.

"The sun is like a nasty sunburn, the only way to kill them is decapitation. And just because they sleep during the day, doesn't mean they won't wake up," John explained to the young hunters.

"So I guess walking right in isn't the best plan of action then," Dean noted but John smiled slyly.

"Actually, that's our plan."

He went on to explain it was their best chance to sneak in silently and steal the Colt before any of the vampires noticed it was gone. No one would get hurt, and they could leave the monsters in peace.

Everyone headed to the cars to gear up. Dean and Sam grabbed their machetes while John grabbed his. Mia went to take the extra one Dean had and practiced fencing with it.

"That's not how you use a machete," Dean said with an eye roll at Mia's antics.

She immediately stopped playing around and turned to him, "Then how do you use one?"

He sighed, "Look, I don't have time to give you a formal lesson. Use your common sense if you even have any."

Mia was tempted to hit Dean with the machete but decided against it.

"So," John began softly, "you guys really wanna know about this Colt?"

Dean and Mia glanced up from their argument and even Sam, who had been ignoring his father, was watching him with fascination.

"Yes, sir." Sam answered and his father launched into the legend behind the Colt as well as its importance to them.

He explained to them that Samuel Colt made the gun back in 1835. It was a gun meant for hunters. He made thirteen bullets, and used the gun at least half a dozen times before he and the gun both disappeared.

"These were legends, bedtime stories for hunters. I didn't even believe in it until I found Daniel's letter… The legends say that the gun can kill anything..." John finished.

Sam's eyes widened in realization, "Like the demon that killed Mom and Jess."

His father nodded. "Ever since I've caught the demon's trail, I've been looking for a way to kill it, and this gun just might do the trick."

Mia looked at Sam to gauge his reaction. He looked excited, the thought of revenge on the demon being so close brought him relief.

"Let's go, we're losing time," John commanded the three of them.

* * *

They snuck silently into the barn. John headed straight towards the back while Dean, Sam and Mia cautiously made their way to the center of the building, where a young girl was gagged and bound to a post.

They ducked around the various hammocks, which, housed the sleeping vampires, to get to the girl. Sam and Dean attempted to slowly untie her, without emitting any noise.

Mia looked on worriedly and jumped when she heard a noise nearby. "There's more of them," she whispered in horror.

Dean stood up and followed her to a giant cage that housed about fifteen other victims, all tied and bound like the girl.

"Hand me that steel thing," Dean said to her as he realized that, with the right amount of pressure, the hinge could come undone and they would be able to free the people.

Mia tossed him the strange looking piece and he got to work at once. Unfortunately, in applying pressure to the hinges of the cage, a loud squeak was made.

The three hunters held their breaths in order to see if any of the monsters had awoken from the sound. But the vampires continued to snore.

Dean continued his work while Sam untied the young girl. She began to slowly awake, and the boy tried to tell her that they were trying to help, but it was too late. What they hadn't realized was the hostage had been turned, and she didn't want to be saved. The newborn vampire let out a ghastly roar that awoke the rest of her pack.

The three of them froze until their heard John's shouts from the next room, "Guys, run!"

The hunters didn't need to be told twice and bolted out of the barn. All except Mia, who was grabbed around the ankle and knocked down by the same girl Sam had tried to save.

She fell onto her stomach and dropped her machete. "Let me go!" Mia shouted as she tried to reach for the weapon.

The vampire girl only emitted a throaty laugh and held tight to Mia's ankle.

Luckily, Mia was able to slide herself forward and whip

the machete out of its case. She swung her arm back as hard as she could in order to wound her captor but only succeeded in flinging the weapon further away from her.

* * *

John, who watched the weapon whizz by, glanced over at Mia who was struggling. He knew he couldn't stop to save her. There were murderous vampires on his tail who had seen him try to grab the gun and he needed to get out, so he ran.

He ran out to the woods where they had agreed to meet and caught up with his sons.

"Dad!" Dean sighed in relief.

Sam looked relieved as well, until he noticed that Mia wasn't with him. "Where is she?"

John continued forwards, "They got her."

"WHAT?!" Sam shouted in complete shock, "but she was right behind us."

"One of the vampires grabbed her before she could make it out. I would've helped her but I was chased out," The boys' father explained as he made his way to his truck.

"Dad, we can't just leave her in there to die! We have to go back!" Sam exclaimed angrily as he grabbed his father's arm.

John pulled it away, "Listen to me. I've been in this situation before, what we need to do is come back tonight, when we have a better plan. We can get both the Colt and Mia, back."

"How do you even know that she'll still be alive?" Sam demanded.

"Because Sam," His father yelled, "I know vampires! I know they keep their victims alive for weeks. They won't kill her, but they will feed on her."

"We need to go back, now. I know you don't care about her, but she's my friend and I'm not just going to abandon her when she needs me," Sam shouted as he stormed off towards the barn.

Dean grabbed his brother, "Hey, Hey wait! Dad's right Sam. We need to resupply, come up with a better plan and then we can come back tonight and save Mia."

Sam scoffed, "Why should I even listen to you!? You hate her! In fact, I bet you're glad she's going to die. You even said you wanted her dead yesterday morning!"

His brother sighed. "I know what I said. But this is what I'm saying now. We can save Mia, but you have to listen to Dad."

John came over to them, "Sam. You can't go back in there without a plan, the vampires are already awake and they'll kill every single one of us if we go in there now. I promise you, we'll figure this out. Besides, they have our scent, and they'll be looking to capture us anyways, tonight."

Sam glared at both his father and brother although he knew they were right. They needed a plan. He agreed to come back with them and figure things out before they returned that night to rescue Mia.

* * *

"I caught this one trying to sneak away," The vampire girl who had captured Mia, exclaimed to her brethren. She dragged the young hunter into the group and threw her into the center of it.

The head vampire of the clan, walked over to Mia and smiled sinisterly. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A pretty little hunter."

Mia shook with fear. This was the closest she'd ever been to a monster, and right now she wanted to get out of there more than anything.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked in a shaky voice.

The leader threw his head back and laughed, "Oh no! We never deny ourselves a meal when she walks all too willingly into our midst. We won't kill you, yet."

The young girl felt hot tears pricking her eyes. "Please let me go! I won't tell anyone about you I swear!"

"Shut up!" One of the other female vampires shouted as she backhanded Mia.

"Who are you and how did you find us?" The leader demanded.

Mia choked as she clutched her cheek, "I'm Mia Wilkins."

"Did she say Elkins? Is she related to that old guy we killed; Daniel?" One of the other vampires asked.

At the name 'Elkins,' Mia came up with an idea. She knew if she told the vampires the truth of how she found them and who had helped her break into the barn, they would kill the Winchesters so she decided to lie.

"Yes! I'm Daniel's niece. He wanted to train me to hunt vampires like you and that's how I found you. I tracked you here after you murdered my uncle," She lied convincingly.

The vampire leader stiffened at the mention of Daniel. "Did he tell you that he's the one who wiped out my entire family!?"

The young girl shook her head, "I had no idea. I was just looking into his death."

"Who were the others that came with you?" The vampire leader asked.

"I don't know," She lied uncertainly.

"Don't play games with us little girl! Who were those men?" He shouted at her.

"I'm telling the truth, I don't know! The hunters that agreed to work this case with me, I don't even remember their names! And it doesn't matter because they've already left town, they don't give a damn about me. They were only in this because I offered them money to help me."

Although Mia was lying, she knew in her heart that Dean wasn't going to come back for her. He and his father didn't like her, and they would probably convince Sam to leave her behind. She felt a tear run down her cheek at the thought, which made her lie all the more convincing to the vampires.

"Luther, I think she's telling the truth," A redheaded vampire whispered to the leader.

Luther smirked, "Then it's your lucky day Miss Elkins. You get to survive the night."

Mia sighed in relief and let the vampires drag her into the cage of hostages and tie her up. However, not before she kicked the strange looking metal piece Dean had been fiddling with, into the cage along with her.

"What a beautiful addition to our collection," Luther sneered before he bared his fangs at her and buried them in her neck as she screamed.

* * *

Back at the motel. Sam was pacing the room anxiously. Their father had sent Dean out to the funeral home to retrieve a dead man's blood, an hour ago.

"Sam," John said calmly to his son, "it's going to be okay. Dean will be back soon." He sat at the desk of the motel and devised a plan in his new journal.

Sam shook nervously. "I'm worried about her, Dad."

His father reassured him that Mia was going to be alright and told him to relax.

"Sammy," he said after a moment of silence, "did I ever tell you what I did when you were born?"

Sam shook his head.

"I put one hundred bucks into a savings account for you. And every month I'd put in a hundred more. It was a college fund-I did this for your brother too until…" He paused as he recalled the horrible memory.

"Anyways," he continued, "my point is that I never wanted this life for you."

"Then why did you get so mad when I left?" Sam asked.

John sighed, "Because, after your mom died. All I saw was evil, and all I wanted to do was protect you and Dean. I wanted you prepared against every kind of evil, and I guess somewhere along the lines I stopped being your father and I became your drill sergeant."

Sam walked closer to his father, his expression was stunned at how honest and father-like, John was being with him.

The older man went on, "When you told me you wanted to go away to school. All I thought was, that you were going to be alone and unprotected. It never occurred to me that we both wanted different things-that we're different people."

Sam laughed sadly, "We're not different. If anything, you and I are more similar than ever. You losing Mom, me losing Jess…"

John smiled fondly at Sam, "Yeah, I guess that's true, son."

"Hey Dad, what happened to that College fund?" Sam asked, trying to lighten the mood.

His father grinned, "I spent it all on ammo."

The two of them both laughed. Real genuine laughs. And for the first time in ages, Sam felt closer to his father than he ever had.

Dean came in through the door moments later with a bottle of dead man's blood- a poison to vampires. John then went on to explain the plan while Sam and Dean prepared their weapons.

* * *

Mia awoke with a stinging pain in her neck and gasped when she remembered what had happened.

"Shhh," one of the other victims in the cage whispered, "if we make noises, they come in here and bleed us until we can't make a sound."

Mia's eyes widened and she pressed her hand against her wound in order to stem the blood flow. She felt woozy from bloodloss, but it didn't keep her from remembering that she'd brought the tiny prybar into the cell with her.

She scooted herself to the edge of the cage and pressed her ear against it in order to listen to what the vampires were doing. Night had fallen, and it seemed as though they were getting ready to hunt.

"Luther, we caught the hunters' scents nearby the highway. What do you want us to do?" One of the vampires asked.

"Kate, my love, go with Hank and bring those hunters to us. But feel free to treat yourself to one of them," Luther said to the redhead woman beside him.

Sarah smiled in delight and planted a passionate kiss on Luther's lips before she and another vampire ran off into the darkness.

Mia bit her lip to keep from shouting. The Winchesters were in huge trouble!

She slowly began to jam the tiny bar between the hinges, as Dean had done, and pushed it with all her might. However, since her hands were bound, she was capable of very little movement and the cage wouldn't budge. Mia went at it desperately for an hour, until one of the vampires saw what she was up to. She was knocked out, handcuffed and tied to the furthest end of the cage.

Mia hoped the boys would be okay and continued to eavesdrop on the vampires for any sign of news.

* * *

The Winchesters' plan was put it into action. Dean posed as a motorist with car trouble on the highway, and awaited the vampires who would inevitably smell him out. Meanwhile, John and Sam waited nearby in the trees with crossbows dipped in dead man's blood.

When Kate, the redheaded vampire showed up and taunted Dean with one of the other vampires, Sam and his father took their shots. The accomplice and the girl were both shot in the chest. A deadly, but not fatal, wound.

"Damn, that stings!" The girl groaned as she realized that everything had been a set up.

John smirked as he and Sam emerged from the trees nearby. "Give it time, sweetheart. The arrow is soaked in dead man's blood, that's like poison to you isn't it?"

Kate's eyes glazed over and she collapsed. Dean and Sam loaded her unconscious form into their father's truck, while he decapitated the accomplice.

The next phase of the plan involved the burning of saffron, skunk's cabbage, and trillium as it would block the scents of both the hunters and the vampire girl from the rest of the clan.

"Dust yourselves with the ashes and you just might be able to sneak into the nest undetected to rescue Mia," John instructed.

Sam wearily glanced at the woozy looking vampire. "Are you sure they'll come for her?"

John nodded, "Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun. But her blood-sickness will wear off soon so you don't have much time."

Sam strapped his machete to his belt. "All we need is a half-hour."

"Good. Then I want you three to get out this area as fast as you can," John added.

"Whoa, wait," Dean said, "you can't take on the whole clan by yourself."

"Just to get the Colt," John replied.

Sam frowned, "but after, we're gonna meet up right?"

His father's face remained impassive.

"We're gonna use the gun together, right?" Sam added.

John said nothing and Sam sighed, "You're leaving again, aren't you? You're going to face the demon alone."

Sam groaned when his father looked away in shame. "You can't keep treating us like we're children."

"You are my children, and I'm trying to protect you."

Dean finally spoke up, "Dad, with all due respect, that's a load of crap. You know what Sammy and I are hunting. Hell, you sent us on a few trips yourself. So you can't be that worried about our safety."

John appeared to be stunned by his oldest son's words. Dean was his obedient child, the one who always followed orders and never questioned a command. He fought to find a suitable response.

"This is different," He finally said.

"Why do you want us out of this fight anyways?" Dean questioned angrily.

John sighed, "Because… I don't plan on making it out of this one. Listen, your mother's death killed me. I wouldn't be able to bear it if I lost one of you either."

"And what if you die Dad? What then?" demanded Dean.

"I think Sammy's right. We're stronger together as a family, and that's how we should take on this demon." He added in a hopeful voice.

"We're wasting time." John replied, "get in, grab Mia, and get out. That's an order."

He walked away, leaving a frustrated Sam and Dean to their own thoughts of the upcoming battle.

* * *

Mia was beginning to feel woozy again. She clung tightly to the cage wall as she strained herself to hear what the vampires were discussing. From the tone of their voices they sounded worried.

"Good," Mia thought to herself, "maybe the Winchesters gave you guys a well deserved ass kicking."

She then heard Luther talking to two of the other vampires that had returned to the nest.

"Luther," one of them said to their leader in a terrified voice, "there's no scent of those hunters. But Hank, they… they cut his head off!"

"What about Kate?" The vampire leader demanded.

"There was no sign of her."

Suddenly, the vampires paused, as if they were listening to something intently.

"It's just a truck on the highway," One of the vampires dismissed.

"Kate. She's in that truck," Luther announced worriedly. He then gathered all the vampires except for one and headed out to ambush whoever had Kate.

Mia silently hoped that the boys would be prepared. She hugged her knees to her chest and began singing softly to herself, like she did when she was a child. It made her feel better. She coaxed herself with the belief that maybe the Winchesters were going to save her! Or at least, Sam was.

The last vampire guard sat alone and drank bottle after bottle of whiskey. Mia figured he was probably still in shock after hearing what had happened to his buddy.

"S.O.S please someone help me, it's not healthy, for me to feel this way," Mia sang softly to herself.

The vampire grunted as though he could hear her, but Mia continued to sing in spite of the fact.

"Y.O.U are making this hard, you got me tossin' and turnin' can't sleep at night," Mia sang.

Finally, the drunken vampire stood and stormed over to the cage. "Shut up! Can't you think of a better song to sing?" He yelled at her.

Mia was filled with fear but that soon faded when she recognized two shadows on the walls nearby. Instead of shutting up as the vampire suggested, Mia rolled her eyes and retorted, "I'm not a jukebox, buddy."

He growled at her and bared his fangs, "Stop singing that fucking song!"

Mia glared back at the vampire, "Why don't you come on over here and make me!"

Just before the infuriated vampire could charge over to the cage door to kill her, Dean appeared behind him and sliced his head off while Mia averted her eyes.

"I told you I'd come back for you," Dean joked as he hurried over to unlock the cage.

Mia grinned, "Man, I never thought I'd say this but I sure am glad to see you, Dean!"

He uncuffed her arms and she wrapped them around him out of pure happiness and relief. Dean awkwardly returned the hug. He hadn't told anyone but he had felt guilty about Mia's capture. If he had just taken two seconds to explain to her how to use the machete properly, maybe she wouldn't have that giant bloody scar on her neck or bruises all over her arms.

"Yeah, yeah I know. You owe me your life. But right now, we need to get out of here," Dean told her and released her from the hug.

Mia nodded and they gathered all the prisoners who were asleep or unconscious and awoke them. Sam appeared in the doorway of the cell and Mia ran to hug her friend.

"Mia, thank God you're alive!" Sam exclaimed as he hugged his friend tightly.

"Thank you for coming back for me. I honestly thought you were gonna abandon me," She admitted.

Sam scoffed at her words. "Us, leave you here? After everything we've been through? No way. Mia you're part of this team, whether you like it or not. And that means that no one gets left behind."

"Or forgotten." Mia added with a small smile and Sam smiled back, understanding her reference.

"Sammy. There comes a time in every boy's life when he has to rebel against his parent's wishes. I think this time is now," Dean said to his brother.

Sam nodded, "We're going after Dad."

"What?" Mia asked in confusion.

* * *

Sam and Dean dragged her out of the barn and back to the camp as they explained the elaborate plan their father had organized. Including, the current phase in which, John took on the entire vampire clan alone to trade in Kate for the Colt.

"He's crazy! Of course we're not gonna just leave him to die!" Mia exclaimed as she and the boys sprinted towards the highway.

When they reached the clearing adjacent to the roadblock set up by the vampires. Sam, Dean and Mia watched as John held Kate at knifepoint as he bargained with Luther.

"Here," Sam said as he handed a crossbow to Mia, "these arrows are soaked in dead man's blood. It's poisonous to vampires. Aim for their hearts."

Mia nodded in understanding but Dean elected to go into depths with her on how to use the weapon.

"It's almost like a gun. Aim through this scope and release the trigger when you have a target. You've only got one shot, so try to be accurate," Dean explained and Mia nodded gratefully.

"I've got this," She told him honestly, as she aimed the crossbow at Luther.

Suddenly, Kate snuck out of John's grasp and knocked him backwards. Luther then threw him through the window of his car.

Sam shot first at one of the nearby vampires. Dean shot second as the three of them emerged from the woods. Mia aimed her crossbow at Luther and prepared to shoot him but before she could, another vampire knocked her to the ground.

"Oh hell no! Not you again." Mia shouted as she fired the crossbow arrow straight into the head of the vampire girl who had tackled her. The vampire immediately released her but by the time she got to her feet she saw that Luther had Sam by the neck, and was forcing Dean to back down.

"You lied to me," Luther hissed at Mia, referring to the lie she told him about the Winchesters not coming back to rescue her.

The girl shrugged, "Yeah, I tend to do that."

Luther growled angrily and tightened his grip around Sam's neck. "You people! Why can't you leave us alone? We have as much of a right to live as you."

"I don't think so," came the voice of John Winchester. He fired the Colt and the bullet imbedded itself within Luther's skull.

Sam squirmed out of the dying vampire's grasp and ran to his brother and Mia, who pushed him behind them protectively.

Luther's face turned black from the point of impact and his body seemed to go into convulsions until he finally crumpled to the ground; dead.

"NO! LUTHER!" Kate screamed in agony as she stared at the dead body of her mate. Suddenly, anger filled up her features, she turned to charge at the Winchesters in order to kill them, but Mia was quicker. She grabbed Dean's machete from the ground and swung hard to chop off Kate's head.

This time, she was successful with her efforts. She watched as it fell to the ground and rolled towards Luther's dead body.

"Join him in hell, you bitch!" Mia spat as she put her blade away. She hated the pair of them, they'd both fed on her and caused her enormous pain. She felt their deaths were justified, in a way.

When she looked up, she saw the utter shock on Sam and Dean's faces as well as pride beaming from John's face. Mia glanced back down at the vampire's beheaded form and realized, this was her first real kill. Sure she'd help put some vengeful spirits to death but this seemed more horrifying. Kate had been human once, and Mia knew that her first kill would haunt her.

Despite the revulsion she felt, Mia smiled at the Winchesters. "Can we eat? I'm starving."

* * *

Back at the motel, Mia dined on a plate of fries purchased by Sam in congratulation of her first kill. Mia was feeling a lot better, and healed up considerably despite the abuse she'd endured.

As they packed up to head off, John came in to speak to them.

"Boys," he began. Mia took his fatherly tone as invitation to leave the family to themselves but John gestured for her to join them.

"You disobeyed a direct order," He continued. Sam and Dean stood up straight and replied; "Yes sir."

"But we saved your ass, back there,'' Dean muttered and John stared him down.

"You're right," John agreed, to Sam, Dean and Mia's surprise. "It scares the hell out of me-the thought of losing you two, but we are stronger as a team. So we're gonna go after the demon, together."

Mia looked down awkwardly as she didn't know how to respond, but John addressed her next. "Mia. Although, I've only known you for a short time, I can see that my sons are doing a good job training you."

The young girl met John's eyes. "Thank you-sir. They really are."

He smiled, "And the way you protected us by killing Luther's mate, it's just the type of quick thinking that makes a good hunter. I know you may not know much about hunting, but I think Sam is right. You could be a great help on this case, but I do warn you, you may not make it out alive. Do you still want to help us?"

Mia glanced at Sam who looked concerned, and Dean who seemed confused. These boys were all the family she had now, and Sam was right; they were a team now, and if the boys were going up against this demon, then so was she.

"I would be honored to, sir," Mia replied with the ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

John smiled brightly at her. "Then it's settled."

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated as well if you'd like to make my day! Just saying... :P Next next chapter will go more into depth on Mia's childhood.**

**Song Used: S.O.S-Rihanna**

_**Next Up: Mia and the Winchesters face the demon Meg in a battle for the Colt.**_


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